Instant Zen

INSTANT ZEN
W a k i n g Up in the Present
Translated by
Thomas Cleary
Instant Zen: Waking Up in the Present

Copyright 1994 by Thomas Cleary. Translated from the original Chi nese. N o portion o f this book, except for brief review, may be reproduced in any form without written permission o f the publisher. For information contact North Atlantic Books. Published by
N orth Atlantic Books
P.O. Box 12 ,3 17 Berkeley, C A 9 4 7 12 Cover illustration, The Sixth Patriarch Cutting Bamboo by Liang K ai, used by permission o f the Tokyo National Museum Cover and book design by Paula Morrison Typeset by Catherine Campaigne Printed in the United States o f America by M alloy Lithographing
Instant Zen: Waking Up in the Present is sponsored by the Society for the
Study o f Native Arts and Sciences, a nonprofit educational corporation whose goals are to develop an educational and crosscultural perspective linking various scientific, social, and artistic fields; to nurture a holistic view of the arts, sciences, humanities, and healing; and to publish and distrib ute literature on the relationship o f mind, body, and nature. Library o f Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ch ing-yuan, 1 0 6 7 - 1 1 2 0 [Selections. English. 1994] Instant Zen : waking up in the present / translated by Thomas Cleary. p. cm. This book contains translations o f general lectures on Zen by Foyan ( 1 0 6 7 - 1 12 0 ) P. xii. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 1 - 5 5 6 4 3 - 1 9 3 - 7 1 . Zen Buddhism Early works to 1800. I. Cleary, Thomas, 19 4 9 -. II. Title. B Q 9 2 6 5.C 4 57 2 58 13 19 94 294.3 *927 dc20 94-25026 CIP 4 5 6 7 8 9 / 03 02 01 00 99


Contents
Introduction . . . vii Zen Lectures Freedom and Independence . . . 3 Zen Sicknesses . . . 4 Facing It Directly . . . 6 Seeing and D oing . . . 10 The Marrow o f the Sages . . . 13 Not Knowing . . . 1 5 Emancipation . . . 16 Stop O pinions . . . 18 The D irector . . . 2 1 Saving E nergy . . . 25 The Most Direct Approach . . . 27 Asleep . . . 28 No Seeing . . . 29 Independence . . . 30 In Tune . . . 3 1 Learning Z e n . . . 32
77?e Busts o f Awareness . . . 33

Just Being There . . . 3 5
Tm/o Sicknesses . . . 36
Mind Itself. . . 38 Seeing Through 39 Speaking Effectively . . . 42 N aked Realization . . . 43 Seeing M in d . . . 45
Discovery . . . 48 Show the Truth . . . 49 Real Zen . . . 50 W onder. . . 54 Just T h is . . . 57 Keep E volving . . . 61 A pproval. . . 65 Self Knowledge . . . 68 Step Back and See . . . 70 All the Way Through . . . 74 Comprehending Everything . . . 76 Seek Without Seeking . . . 78 Original R eality . . . 80 Same Reality, Different Dreams . . . 82 Watch Yourself. . . 84 Understand Im mediately . . . 86 Instant Enlightenment. . . 88 . Zen Mastery . . . 91 Equality . . . 93 Clear E y e s . . . 95 Finding Certainty . . . 96 Ge Understanding . . . 99 Principle and Phenomena . . . 10 1 Keys o f Zen M i n d . . . 103 Sitting Meditation . . . 1 1 1 N otes. . . 1 1 5 Appendix: Sowg o f Trusting the Heart. . . 1 Bibliography. . . 13 7

Introduction
hile we persistently look forw ard for tom orrow s tech nologies to solve our problems, writes Robert V. Adams, C E O , X erox Technology Ventures, and president, World Busi ness Academy, we often find ourselves simultaneously looking backward, reexamining ancient wisdom on how to understand and enjoy ourselves and others in the process. As the practical relevance o f ancient wisdom to modern prob lems becomes increasingly apparent, there is an ever greater need to retrieve these essential insights from ages o f cultural overlay, embellishment, and historical decline. Whether we are simply interested in developing the cosmopolitan outlook proper to cit izens o f the world, or whether we are also interested in higher philosophy and free thought, today it is no longer plausible to regard world wisdom traditions as the domain o f esoteric cultists and fringe intellectuals. The effort to extract useful knowledge and pragmatic pro cedures from ancient lore is a hallmark o f the original science o f mind known as Zen. While many sects and cults eventually grew up around the traces o f original Zen, as a rule these spin offs returned to the very same sort o f sentimental religiosity and dogmatic authoritarianism that original Zen eschewed, making them useless, even counterproductive, in the w ay o f Zen mind liberation. The essence o f original Zen is self-understanding and self
IN ST A N T Z E N
realization. In classical Z en term inology this development is
called attain m en t o f m axim u m potential and m axim um func

tion. This is envisioned as a kind o f liberation, and a kind o f aw akening, which the m any techniques o f Zen mind art are designed to provoke and develop. The Zen understanding o f the human condition is that we habitually get ourselves into all sorts o f binds on account o f our vulnerability to the influences o f external and internal changes. The crux o f the problem seems to be a lack o f fluidity, a sort o f rigidity in the w ay we view the world and think about it. In a famous Zen simile, we are like someone in a boat who thinks the bank of the river is moving. Closer observation reveals it is the boat that is moving, resulting in a changing perspective. Similarly, through Zen understanding we can observe the changes in our bodies and minds that cause our view o f the world and feelings for other people to fluctuate from time to time, altering our reactions and behavior. In this w ay we can gain an extra perspective on ourselves and our lives, a more objective point o f view, less distorted by unexamined biases and undetected inner currents, and thus master our own potential. What is the true self that Zen seeks to understand and to real ize? To say it is like something, replied one ancient master, would be to miss the mark. A description, after all, is not the self itself; Zen seeks direct knowledge that must be experienced oneself. The use o f Zen theory and concentration formulas is to arouse this latent faculty while making it possible to monitor its performance both rationally and intuitively. M any famous Zen sayings illustrate the seeming paradox o f the self, so near at hand and yet so subtle and inscrutable to the self itself: Though it has long been in use, when questioned, no one knows what it is. What is this? Everyone uses it every day, without being aware o f it. H ow to become aware o f it, and how to use this awareness as a foundation for mastering its use, is the task o f Zen realization.
Introduction
It could be said that the object o f Zen, therefore, is to awaken the self and to develop it to a degree o f maturity that is not dic tated merely by physical or social needs. This involves inward discovery and empowerment o f an autonomous core o f subtly conscious, intelligent awareness, which oversees and harmonizes the instinctual, emotional, social, and intellectual facets o f ones being. In Zen terminology, this faculty is sometimes referred to as the director by w ay o f allusion to the function o f the mature self. Referred to in Zen lore as the work, the development of the director is summed up with characteristic precision and beauty in a Buddhist scripture often quoted in Zen literature: It is better to master the mind than be mastered by mind. Thus self-knowledge is an aim , but it is also a means. Selfknowledge is a means o f deeper self-understanding, and ulti mately o f self-realization. In other words, self-knowledge in the Zen process is not pursued by means o f theoretical study but by means o f itself. H ow this is accomplished is the content o f Zen study; when this is done, everything turns into Zen learning. There are many statements in Zen technical literature designed to orient the learner toward understanding, then experiencing, the real self, or the self apart from socially conditioned views; from which vantage point one then understands the real world through the real self. You do not need to seek, said one o f the great masters, but you must save yourself; no one can do it for you. The original Zen teachings fostered the utmost in supreme independence and supreme responsibility for oneself. In order to overcom e the potential for self-deception inherent in this posture, Zen mas ters insisted on experiential insight into the most fundamental nature o f being itself; this w as called seeing nature, or seeing essence. Seeing essence is also called gaining entry, signifying the initiatory nature o f this experience. Zen teachings and practiccs
IN ST A N T Z E N
do not deal only w ith the process o f aw akening insight into essence, but also with the aftermath o f awakening, the process o f maturing and applying Zen consciousness. Religious and Secular Zen Zen arose in China several hundred years after the introduction o f Buddhism there, and operated in both religious and secular contexts. In religious contexts first Buddhism, then Taoism, and later Confucianism Zen taught people to study the living w o rd o f personal experience, rather than the dead w ord o f doctri naire dogmatism. Religious Zen was both patronized and suppressed by despotic secular authorities, resulting in numerous distortions and dete riorations well documented in critical Zen lore. According to the accounts o f the m asters, by the i io o s religious Z en had largely degenerated into stagnant sects and cults. Secular Zen is somewhat harder to trace than religious Zen. Records indicate its existence from the beginnings o f Z en in China. Nearly half o f the Second Patriarchs enlightened disci ples were secular people, and many other lay people o f both upper and lower classes are on official record through the ages as being known to have mastered Zen. There were also many female Zen masters, again from the very beginnings o f Z en. One of the greatest o f these women on record was only thirteen years old when she w as recognized by the most distinguished master in China. Another famous adept was barely sixteen when she was enlightened; and she was also the daughter o f an enlightened woman. One o f the characteristics o f degenerated religious cults, in contrast, is the spiritual suppression o f women and secular peo ple. Since the inner degeneration o f religion into cults tended to coincide with the deepening o f affiliation with, or captivation by, political authorities, such cults are mostly w hat survived as
Introduction
religious Z en , w ith o ffic ia l recognition and support under extrem ely rigid conditions. In late feudal Ja p a n , for exam ple, lay Zen masters were legally forbidden to lecture on Z en clas sics, and journeym an Buddhist priests com m only taught that females could not attain enlightenment. Zen w as under arrest. The unfortunate aberrations o f misogyny and personal powermongering witnessed in modern Zen cults are, like pseudo-religious sectarianism , the h eritage o f such circu m stan ces, not characteristics o f original Z en itself, or o f real Zen in any age. Th is distinction needs to be m ade in order to actually exp eri ence the freedom and enlightenment o f original Z en , avoiding the webs o f suggestion and emotional conditioning used by reli gious systems that have become power structures affording peo ple means and opportunities for dom inating and manipulating others. The usurpation and alienation o f Z en at the hands o f am bi tious careerists turning it into a cult is described by many o f the masters o f the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Dahui, one o f the greatest o f all time, wrote, Students in recent times often abandon the fundam ental and pursue trivia; turning their backs on truth, they plunge into falsehood. T h ey only consider learning in term s o f career and reputation. All they have as their definitive doc trine is to take riches and status and expand their schools. Therefore their mental art is not correct, and they are affected by things. M i-an, another distinguished master o f the Song dynasty, vig orously repudiated cultism and upheld secular Zen in no uncer tain terms: Those w ho have not learned are in confusion; not relying on the source, they abandon their families, quit their jobs, and w ander around in m isery, running north and south looking for Z e n and T ao and seeking Buddha and
XI
IN ST A N T Z E N
Dharm a on the tongues o f old monks all over the land, intentionally waiting for their transmission, unaware they have missed the point long ago. Zen and Culture In the statement o f its own masters, the message o f Zen is not o f the East or West, North or South. It is inherent to Zen , to say nothing o f common sense, that people need not adopt an Eastern culture in order to understand and actualize Zen in ones own life. The so-called director in Zen psychology is so called precisely because it refers to a faculty or capacity o f conscious ness that is not itself controlled or intrinsically modified by the processes o f social and cultural conditioning. One w ay to recognize a cult as a cult, in fact, is its superficial Orientalism. Changes in mood caused by environmental redec oration may occur, especially when combined with other forms o f suggestion, but these are not actually Zen effects. Western Zen cults with an Oriental veneer neither reproduce Eastern cultures nor enhance Western cultures. Authentic Zen is not a sideshow; the teaching is to harmonize with the environment, as illustrated in the famous proverb, A good craftsman leaves no traces. There is, nevertheless, a w ay to describe the overall cultural context o f Zen in a more specific manner. Z en master Foyan refers people to the Fifth Stage o f Enlightenment according to the teaching o f the Ten Stages in the comprehensive Flower Orna ment Scripture, a favorite book of many classical masters and source o f many o f their teachings and techniques. In this fifth stage, while focus is on perfection o f meditation, at the same time, The practitioners, thus engaged in develop ing people, with minds continually following enlightened knowl edge, engaged in unregressing goodness, intent on the search for supreme truth, practice whatever in the w orld would benefit liv ing beings. The text goes on to name occupations like writing, teaching, mathematics, science, medicine, song and dance, drama,
Introduction
music, storytelling, entertainment, city planning, agriculture, horticulture, and so on. The relevance o f this approach to Zen, so different from that o f self-centered cults, need hardly be fur ther argued. The seventeenth century Japanese Zen master Manan also wrote, If you want to quickly attain mastery o f all truths and be independent in all events, there is nothing better than concentration in activity. In the world of the modern West, where democracy and indi vidual human rights are legally recognized but not as yet fully realized, no issues could be more timely than self-understand ing and self-mastery, or liberating the individual from confusing and deluding influences o f all kinds so as to empower freedom o f choice as an authentic individual capacity and not just an abstract constitutional right or social ideal. The bafflement and mystification o f exotic cults have no place in real Zen today, East or West. Zen Meditation While it is common knowledge that Zen Buddhists used medi tation o f various sorts in their arts o f mind cultivation, original Zen and imitation Zen cultism may also be distinguished in a parallel manner by comparison o f specific attitudes toward med itation. Zen that is exaggerated into a meditation cult, in which meditation assumes the status o f a value in itself, or attention is fixated on a given posture or procedure presented as inherently sacrosanct, is a characteristic deterioration. This is more o f the nature o f fetishism than enlightenment, as is particularly evident in cases where meditation is done ritualistically in random groups according to fixed schedules, even under pressure; such activity results in obsession, not liberation. This was not the procedure o f the masters, and it is not recommended in classical Zen med itation texts. The great master Dahui said, Now adays they sound a signal to sit and meditate. If you want a solemn scene, there you have it, but I dont believe
IN ST A N T ZE N
you can sit to the point where you attain stability. People who hear this kind o f talk often think I do not teach peo ple to sit and meditate, but this is a misperception; they do not understand expedient technique. I just want you to be in Zen meditation whether you are working or sitting, to be essentially at peace whether you are speaking, silent, active, or still. The roots o f the deterioration o f meditation from a living means into a dead end were already observed in the classical era o f Zen. The renowned Tang dynasty master Linji said, There are blind baldies who, after they have eaten their fill, sit in med itation and arrest thoughts leaking out, to prevent them from arising, shunning clam or and seeking quietude. This is a devi ated form o f Zen. A generation later, the redoubtable master Xuansha went even further in contrasting living Zen with pietistic quietist cults: This business cannot be pinned down; the road o f mind and thought ends. It does not depend on embellishment; it is original true peace. In movement and action, talking and laughing, it is everywhere clear; there is nothing lacking. People these days, not realizing this truth, arbitrarily get involved in things, in material objects, influenced by all that is around them, fixated and bound up everywhere. Even if they understand, they find the material world a profusion o f confusion, with labels and characteristics not corresponding to realities, so they try to freeze their minds and curtail their thoughts, returning things to voidness, shutting their eyes, clearing aw ay thoughts over and over again whenever they arise, suppressing even subtle ideas as soon as they occur. Such an understanding is that o f an outsider who has fallen into empty nothingness, a corpse whose soul has not yet dissolved. Void o f awareness, void o f cognition, plunged
x iv
IN ST A N T Z E N
and thus can provide a fertile field for charlatans and poseurs. M aster Mi-an said, The reason this path has not been flourishing in recent years is nothing else but the fact that those who are acting as teachers o f others do not have their eyes and brains straight and true. They have no perception o f their own, but just keep fame and fortune and gain and loss in their hearts. Deeply afraid that others will say they have no stories, they mistakenly memorize stories from old books, letting them ferment in the back o f their minds so they w ont lack for something to say if seekers ask them questions. They are like goats crapping: the minute their tails go up, innumerable dung balls plop to the ground! Since students do not have clear perception, how are they supposed to dis tinguish clearly? Students believe deeply, with all their hearts; so unseeing individuals lead unseeing crowds into a pit of fire. In the West, where neither the Chinese language nor Buddhist thought are generally known, it is even more critical to make sure that we understand the true structure o f Zen stories, and know how their structure guides constructive concentration before trying to employ them. Considering what became o f Zen koans even in the land o f their origin, if we are to derive any real living enlightenment from contemplation o f Zen stories we must bew are o f naively m istaking bafflem ent o r m ystification for authentic Zen effects. Zen Enlightenment One o f the peculiarities o f Zen Buddhism is the idea that aw ak ening can take place instantaneously. Zen training, from this point o f view, does not mean learning doctrines, rituals, and pos tures, but preparing the mind to accept this awakening and inte grate it constructively with daily life in the world.
xvi
Introduction
Several deteriorations in Zen are associated with instant aw ak ening. One is the premature induction o f experience, resulting in failure to attain an integrated personality. Another is inabil ity to sustain and develop the newly awakened consciousness, again resulting in failure to achieve complete integration. In this connection it should be noted that enlightenment in Zen gener ally refers to the initiatory awakening, not the full development known in classical Buddhism as complete perfect enlightenment. A rather more common deterioration o f the instant awaken ing o f Zen is mistaking an ecstatic experience or altered state o f consciousness for this Zen awakening. There are many records o f this in Zen lore, where it is sometimes described as mistak ing a fish eye for a pearl. Since enlightenment may often be accom panied by a release o f tension, furthermore, there are cases where people mistake emotional catharsis for awakening, or even delib erately induce excessive tension in an effort to produce an ecsta tic feeling o f release. Attempts to mimic the Zen effect in this w ay can be observed in both Eastern and Western Zen cults, especially in recent generations. A more radical deviation in the sudden enlightenment teach ing w as the doctrine that there is actually no such thing. This became fashionable among cultists in both China and Jap an , many centuries ago. M aster Dahui ( 1 0 8 9 - 1 1 6 3 ) observed, In the monastic Zen communities of recent times, there is a kind o f false Zen that clings to disease as if it were medi cine. Never having had any experiential enlightenment them selves, they consider enlightenment to be a construct, a word used as an inducement, a fall into the secondary, a subor dinate issue. Those who have never had experience o f enlightenment themselves, and who do not believe anyone else has had experience o f enlightenment, uniformly con sider empty, inert blankness to be the primordial. Eating two meals daily, they do no w ork but just sit, calling this inner peace.
xvi 1
IN ST A N T Z E N
Those who adopted this posture in feudal Japan also spoke o f just sitting, but surrounded it with elaborate rituals, con sidering obedience to the regulations and observances o f their cult to be all that was needed in the w ay o f enlightenment. Back in China, master M i-an also pointed out a more subtle fallacy o f this no enlightenment Zen: Just because o f never having personally realized awakening, people temporarily halt sensing o f objects, then take the bit o f light that appears before their eyes to be the ultimate. This illness is most miserable. The con struction o f fancy rituals and titles to celebrate and enshrine these experiences as absolutes made the situation extremely crit ical in the context o f religious Zen . It might be said that this is another advantage o f secular Zen, wherein realization must actu ally be effective in all experiences and is not sacramentalized. Historical records show the spiritual failure o f the Zen-without-enlightenment movement, but they also show the attraction o f this doctrine for authorities who wanted a static and ineffec tual state-approved religion to absorb excess energies o f the pop ulace in a w ay that the authorities could control without military action against their own subjects. As the classical masters them selves alread y pointed out in China long ago , authoritarian cultism with its magisterial potentates, courts, regalia, and sacred mysteries, is actually a historical relic o f politico-religious affairs, not the authentic heritage o f enlightened living Zen. Shortcuts to Zen This book contains translations o f general lectures on Zen by Foyan ( 1 0 6 7 - 1 12 0 ) , who is universally recognized as one o f the greatest masters o f the Song dynasty Zen revival. Going back to the original and classical Zen masters, Foyan presents many sim ple exercises in attention and thought designed to lead to the awakening o f Zen insight into the real nature o f the self. After the passing o f the classical masters, very few Zen teach ers equaled Foyan in the degree to which he fostered indepen
Introduction
dence and autonomy and freedom in his hearers from the very outset. He w as com pletely free o f any desire for fame or fo l lowers, and made no attempt to recruit disciples. All he wanted was for people to open their own eyes and stand on their own two feet, to see directly without delusion and act on truth with out confusion. It is said that dozens o f his hearers attained enlight enment; at least fifteen o f them are known to have become Zen masters and teachers in their own right.
x ix
ZEN LECTURES

Freedom and Independence
is not a companion of myriad things has departed the toils of materialism. The mind does not recognize the mind, the eye does not see the eye; since there is no opposition, when you see forms there are no forms there to be seen, and when you hear sounds there are no sounds there to be heard. Is this not departing the toils of materialism? There is no particular pathway into it, no gap through which to see it: Buddhism has no East or West, South or North; one does not say, You are the disciple, I am the teacher If your own self is clear and everything is It, when you visit a teacher you do not see that there is a teacher; when you inquire of yourself, you do not see that you have a self. When you read scripture, you do not see that there is scripture there. When you eat, you do not see that there is a meal there. When you sit and meditate, you do not see that there is any sitting. You do not slip up in your everyday tasks, yet you cannot lay hold of anything at all. When you see in this way, are you not independent and free?
ne w h o
Zen Sicknesses
has three kinds of sickness and two kinds of light; when you have passed through each one, only then are you able to sit in peace. In the Heroic Progress Dis course, furtherinore, Buddha explained fifty kinds of meditation sickness. Now I tell you that you need to be free from sickness to attain realization. In my school, there are only two kinds of sickness. One is to go looking for a donkey riding on the donkey. The other is to be unwilling to dismount once having mounted the donkey. You say it is certainly a tremendous sickness to mount a don key and then go looking for the donkey. I tell you that one need not find a spiritually sharp person to recognize this right away and get rid of the sickness of seeking, so the mad mind stops. Once you have recognized the donkey, to mount it and be unwilling to dismount is the sickness that is most difficult to treat. I tell you that you need not mount the donkey; you are the donkey! The whole world is the donkey; how can you mount it? If you mount it, you can be sure the sickness will not leave! If you dont mount it, the whole universe is wide open! When the two sicknesses are gone, and there is nothing on your mind, then you are called a wayfarer. What else is there? This is why when Zhaozhou asked Nanquan, What is the path? Nanquan replied, The normal mind is the path. Now Zhaozhou suddenly stopped his hasty search, recognized the
he s p iritu a l b o d y
Zen Sicknesses sickness of Zen Masters and the sickness of Buddhas, and passed through it all. After that, he traveled all over, and had no peer anywhere, because of his recognition of sicknesses. One day Zhaozhou went to visit Zhuyou, where he paced back and forth brandishing his staff from east to west and west to east. Zhuyou asked, What are you doing? Zhaozhou replied, Testing the water. Zhuyou retorted, I havent even one drop here; what will you test? Zhaozhou left, leaning on his staff. See how he revealed a bit of an example, really quite able to stand out. Zen followers these days all take sickness for truth. Best not let your mind get sick.
Facing It Directly
you wont get it; but if you ask, in effect youve slighted yourself. If you dont ask, how can you know? But you still have to know how to ask before you can succeed. I have stuck you right on the top of the head for you to dis cern the feeling, like lifting up the scab on your moxacautery burn. Spiritually sharp people know immediately; then for the first time they attain the ability to avoid cheating themselves in any way. Im not fooling you. Remember the story of the ancient wor thy who was asked, What was the intention of the Zen Founder in coming from India? Amazed, the ancient said, You ask about the intention of another in coming from India. Why not ask about your own intention? Then the questioner asked, What is ones own intention? The ancient replied, Observe it in hidden actions. The questioner asked, What are its hidden actions? The ancient opened and closed his eyes to give an indication. The ancients often took the trouble to talk quite a bit, but their descendants were not like that; they would shout at peo ple the moment they entered the door, with no further whats or hows or maybes. If you dont understand, there is something that is just so; why not perceive it? In other places they like to have people look at model case stories, but here we have the model case story of
F y o u d o n t a sk ,
Facing It Directly what is presently coming into being; you should look at it, but no one can make you see all the way through such an immense affair. People spend all their time on thoughts that are nothing but idle imagination and materialistic toil, so wisdom cannot emerge. All conventions come from conceptual thought; what use do you want to make of them? Wisdom is like the sun rising, whereupon everything is illu minated. This is called the manifestation of nondiscriminatory knowledge. You should attain this once, and from then on there will be something to work with, and we will have something to talk about. If you indulge in idle imagination and toil over objects, then you have nothing for me to work with. What a laugh! When I talk about the east, you go into the west, and when I talk about the west, you go into the east; I can do nothing for you! If you could turn your heads around, when your insight opened up youd be able to say, After all it turns out that the teacher has told me, and I have told the teacher, and when the head was shaken the tail would whip around, everything falling into place. You brag about having studied Zen for five or ten years, but when have you ever done this kind of work? You just pursue fast talk. When you have come to me and I see it as soon as you try to focus on anything, that means your inner work has not yet reached the point of flavorlessness. If you stay here five or ten years ancUpanage to perfect your inner work, then you will awaken. Whenever 1 teach people to do inner work, what I tell them is all in accord with the ancients, not a word off; understand, and you will know of the ancients. But dont say, An ancient spoke thus, and I have understood it thus, for then it becomes incorrect. How about the ancient saying, It is not the wind moving, not the flag moving, but your mind moving how many words
IN STA N T ZEN
here are right or wrong in your own situation? It is also said, I am you, you are me nothing is beyond this. Also, someone asked Yunmen, What is^the students self? Yunmen replied, Mountains, rivers, the whole earth. This is quite good; are these there or not? If the mountains, rivers, and earth are there, how can you see the self? If not, how can you say that the presently existing mountains, rivers, and earth are not there? The ancients have explained for you, but you do not understand and do not know. I always tell you that what is inherent in you is presently active and presently functioning, and need not be sought after, need not be put in order, need not be practiced or proven. All that is required is to trust it once and for all. This saves a lot of energy. It is hard to find people like this. When my teacher was with his teacher, his teacher used to say, This path is a natural sub tlety attained by oneself, generally focusing on the existence of innate knowledge. When I saw my teacher, I was unable to ex press this for ten years; just because I wondered deeply, I later attained penetrating understanding and now do not waste any energy at all. It is not that it is there when you think of it but not so when you dont; Buddhism is not like this. Dont let the matter under the vestment bury me away. If you do not reflect and examine, your whole life will be buried away. Is there in fact anything going on here? Nowadays there are many public teachers whose guiding eye is not clear. This is very wrong! How dare they mount a pulpit to try to help others? Showing a symbol of authority, they rant and rave at people without any qualms, simply pursuing the immediate and not worrying about the future. How miserable! If you have connections, you should not let yourself be set up as a teacher as long as you are not enlightened, because that is disaster! If there is something real in you, musk is naturally fra grant. See how many phony Zen masters there are, degener-
Facing It Directly ating daily over a long, long time. They are like human dung carved into sandalwood icons; ultimately there is just the smell of crap. * Wishing to get out of birth and death, wishing to attain release, you try to become unified; but one does not attain unification after becoming homogenized. If you try to make yourself uni fied, you will certainly not attain unification. Once a seeker called on a Wayfarer and asked, as they roamed the mountains, An ancient teacher said he sought unification for thirty years without being able to attain it; what does this mean? The Wayfarer replied, I too am thus. Then he asked the seeker, Understand? He also gave the seeker a poem: The ancient teacher attains unification and I too am thus; before the end o f this month, I will settle it for you again. At the end of the month, the Wayfarer passed away. Tell me about unification; is it good or bad? The ancient teacher attained unification, and I too am thus. I announce to Zen seekers: fac ing it directly, dont stumble past. Each of you, go on your way.
Seeing and Doing-
who have seen but can do nothing about it. Once you have seen, why cant you do anything about it? Just because of not discerning; that is why you are helpless. If you see and discern, then you can do something about it. Nevertheless, if you expect to understand as soon as you are inspired to study Zen, well, who wouldnt like that? Its just that you have no way in, and you cannot force understanding. Fail ing to mesh with it in every situation, missing the connection at every point, you cannot get it by exertion of force. Whatever you are doing, twenty-four hours a day, in all your various activities, there is something that transcends the Bud dhas and Zen Masters; but as soon as you want to understand it, its not there. Its not really there; as soon as you try to gather your attention on it, you have already turned away from it. That is why I say you see but cannot do anything about it. Does this mean that you will realize it if you do not aim the mind and do not develop intellectual understanding? Far from it you will fail even more seriously to realize it. Even under standing does not get it, much less not understanding! If you are spiritually sharp, you can open your eyes and see as soon as you hear me tell you about this. Have not people of immeasurable greatness said this truth is not comprehensible by thought, and that it is where knowledge does not reach? Were it not like this, how could it be called an enlightened truth?
an y a re th o se
Seeing and Doing Nowadays, however, people just present interpretations and views, making up rationalizations; they have never learned to be thus, and have never reached this state. If people with potential for enlightenment are willing to see in this way, they must investigate molt deeply and examine most closely; all of a sudden they will gain mastery of it and have no further doubt. The reason you do not understand is just because you are taken away by random thoughts twenty-four hours a day. Since you want to learn business, you fall in love with things you see and fondly pursue things you read; over time, you get continuously involved. How can you manage to work on enlight enment then? Generally speaking, there are appropriate times for those who study business. Over the age of thirty, its better not to study, because it will be hard to learn even if you do, and it will also be of dubious value. If you have taken care of your own busi ness, on the other hand that is, the business of the self then you will still be able to learn through study, because you have been transformed. But if you have done with your own business, why would you study? If you are twenty years of age or there abouts, you can still study, but if you are spiritually sharp and intent on the matter of life and death, you wont study anything else. Wheneveryou seek Zen, furthermore, your mind ground must be even antkstraight, and your mind and speech must be in accord. Since your mind and speech are straightforward, your states are-thus consistent from start to finish, without any petty details. Do not say, understand! I have attained mastery! If you have attained mastery, then why are you going around asking other people questions? As soon as you say you understand Zen, people watch whatever you do and whatever you say, wonder ing why you said this or that. If you claim to understand Zen, moreover, this is actually a contention of ignorance. What about
the saying that one should silently shine, hiding ones enlight enment ? What about concealing ones name and covering ones tracks ? What about the path is not different from the human mind ? Each of you should individually reduce entanglements and not talk about judgments of right and wrong. All of your activ ities everywhere transcend Buddhas and Masters, the water buf falo at the foot of the mountain is imbued with Buddhism; but as soon as you try to search, its not there. Why do you not dis cern this?
12
The Marrow of the Sages
y l iv e l ih o o d
is the m arrow o f all the sages; there is not
a moment when I am not explaining it to you, but you are unwilling to take it up. So it turns out, on the contrary, to be my deception. But look here where is it that I am not ex plaining for you? Professional Zennists say I do not teach people to think, I do not teach people to understand, I do not teach people to discuss stories, I do not cite past and present examples; they suppose we are idling away the time here, and think that if they had spent the time elsewhere they would have understood a few model case sto ries and heard some writings. If you want to discuss stories, cite past and present, then please go somewhere else; here I have only one-flavor Zen, which I therefore call the marrow of all sages. Now let me ask you something. Why do you pay respects to an icon of wisdom? Does the icon acknowledge you when you pay respects? Does it agree with you? If you say it acknowledges you, it ifc a clay icon how can it give an^ acknowledgment? If you say it agrees, can you agree? Since you aft incapable of acknowledgment or agreement, why doôu pay respqgfs? Is it socialconvention? Is it producing good ness from seeing a representation? If you say it is social duty, how can there be social conven tion among renunciants? How can they produce good by seeing representations?
13
Do you pay respects as a consequence of going along with the crowd? If so, what is the logic in that? Here you must understand each point clearly. Have you not read how the great teacher Changsha one day turned around and saw the icon of wisdom, whereupon he suddenly realized the ultimate and said, Turning around, I suddenly see the orig inal body. The original body is not a perception or a reality; if you consider the original being to be the same as the real being, you will suffer hardship forever. Do you understand^he logic of this?
14
Not Knowing
I question students, they all say they do not know or understand; they just say they eat when hungry and sleep when tired. What redemption is there in such talk? You even say you are not cognizant of whether the month is long or short, and do not care whether it is a leap year; whd understands this affair of yours? Now I ask you, how do you explain the logic of not know ing? You hear others say this, so you say it yourselves; but have you ever understood that principle of not knowing? An ancient said, Not knowing means nothing is not known, nowhere not reached. This is.called unknowing so that you peo ple today may reach that unknown state. This is the realm of the sages how could it be like the blindness and nonunder standing that people today call not knowing? If you go on like this always declaring you dont know and are not concerned, how will you communicate if someone ques tions you? There might be no one to continue on the road of Zen! It W fcm t do to be like this. Make your choice carefully!
om etim es w h e n
15
Emancipation
a Zen worthy asked an old adept, What is essential for emancipation? The old adept said, Fog is ris ing from your feet, reverend! At these words, the Zen worthy suddenly got the message. Do you know about emancipation? If you formulate the idea that you can understand, then you are blocked off from it. Later, another adept said, I dare not turn my back on you, master; for fog is rising from your feet! Then there is the story of when Beiyuan Tong left Dongshan. Dongshan said, Where are you going? Tong replied, Into the mountains. Dongshan said, Flying Monkey Ridge is steep a fine sight! Tong hesitated. Dongshan said, Reverend Tong! Tong responded, Yes? Dongshan said, Why dont you go into the mountains? At these words, Tong suddenly got the message. The ancients were quite direct in their ways of helping oth ers. Whenever people came to them, they would show them. In this case, he said he was going into the mountains; what does this mean? People today do not realize clearly, inevitably making an understanding. By a bit of understanding, they have blocked themselves off. One can only investigate comprehensively through experience; one cannot understand just by intellectual interpre tation. ( nce you have comprehended thoroughly with unified comprehension, you will no longer doubt.
n a n c ie n t tim es
16
Nevertheless, this is not easy to maintain. If you have entered into it correctly, you will not backslide. Thus, even if you have clarified what can be understood, that is not comparable to see ing what cannot be understood and also having the ability to maintain it. Then you will always be aware and always be alert. This is why an ancient said, The normal mind is the path; can one aim for it? If you try to head for it, you are turning away from it. Seeing as how you are not allowed to head for it, then how do you maintain it? Its not easy! Is this not emancipation? If you seek a state of emancipation, this is what is called a cramp! Xuansha said, The whole earth is an eon of hell; if you do not clarify yourself, this is a serious cramp. It will not do to idle away the time.
17
Stop Opinions
V
e
of Zen said, Dont seek reality, just put a stop to opinions. He also said, As soon as there are judgments of right and wrong, the mind is lost in a flurry. These sayings teach you people of today what to work on. When you read his laying, Dont seek reality, you say there is no further need to seek this means you are still entertaining opinions and are in a flurry of judgments; after all you have not reached a state of mind where there is no seeking, and are just making up an opinionated interpretation. People who study Zen nowadays are all like this; reading a transformative saying and reaching an insight into the words, they then try to apply it to all sayings, thinking they are all the same. Keeping this in their hearts, they think of it as their own attainment; far from realizing they have lost their minds by enter taining an opinionated understanding, they cling to it and will not let go. What ignoramuses! Would you like to attain a state of mind where you seek noth ing? Just do not conceive all sorts of opinions and views. This nonseeking does not mean blanking out and ignoring everything. In everyday life, twenty-four hours a day, when there is unclar ity in the immediate situation it is generally because the opin ionated mind is grasping and rejecting. How can you get to know the nondiscriminatory mind then? Thus when an ancient sage was asked if the created and the
he T h ir d P a tria r c h
Stop Opinions
uncreated are different, he said they are not. Sky and earth, rivers and seas, wind and clouds, grasses and trees, birds and beasts, people and things living and dying, changing right before our eyes, are all called created forms. The uncreated way is silent and unmoving; the indescribable and unnameable is called uncre ated. How can there be no difference? Grand Master Yongjia said, The true nature of ignorance is the very nature of enlightenment; the empty body of illusions and projections is the very body of realities. These two are each distinct; how do you understand the logic of identity? You have to experience the mind without seeking; then they will integrate and you will get to be trouble-free. In the ten stages of enlightenment, the fifth is the stage Dif ficult to Conquer, which means that it is extremely difficult to attain equality of real knowledge and conventional knowledge; when you enter this stage, the two are equal, so it is called the stage that is difficult to conquer. Students of the path should take them in and make them equal twenty-four hours a day. And do you know they are drawn up by your nondiscriminatory mind? Like an artist drawing all sorts of pictures, both pretty and ugly, the mind depicts forms, feelings, perceptions, abstract patterns, and consciousnesses; it depicts human soci eties and paradises. When it is drawing these pictures, it does not borrow the power of another^ there is no discrimination between the artist and the artwork. It is because of not realiz ing this that you conceive various opinions, having views of your self andv i ^ s of other people, creating your own fair and foul. So it is said, An artist draws a picture of hell, with countless sorts of hideous^Srms. On setting aside the brush to look it over, its bone-chilling, really hair-raising. But if you know its a draw ing, what is there to fear? In olden times, when people had clearly realized this, it became evident in all situations. Once when the great teacher Xuansha was cutting down a tree, a tiger bounded out of the woods. The
teachers companion said, Its a tiger! The teacher scolded him and said, Its a tiger for you. Another time, when he saw a seeker performing prostrations, Xuansha said, It is because of the self that one can bow to the other. These expedients are in profound accord with the intent of Buddha. The great teacher Fayan once pointed to a dog right in front of him and said, An engraving. When you look at this, do not look to the dog itself for clarification;you must see it in your own experience before you can get it. Only then will you under stand that saying, As soon as there are judgments of right and wrong, you lose your mind in a flurry. I hope you get the point!
20
The Director
more if you cannot trust directly w hat are you good for then?
ve n i f y o u trust directly in the rightness o f reality this very moment, already you are called a dullard; h o w much the
If you directly trust the rightness of reality, why are you called a dullard? When have you been coming and going all this time? You shoulcf know youve lost one part; then you see that what you had hitherto not comprehended turrys out to be a view that has no relevance to you. As I observe the ancients since time immemorial, there were those who attained enlightenment from (confusion; all of their statements are teachings on attaining enlightenment from con fusion. Then there were those who came to understand con fusion after becoming enlightened; all of their statements are teachings on understanding confusion after becoming enlight ened. Then again, were were those for whom there is neither confusion nor enlightenment; all o f their statements are teachings on freedom from both confusion and enlightenment. Next, thosfc who attained enlightenment outside of confusion were also very numerous, so they are not worth talking about. How much less worthwhile^fre those who neither know enlightenment nor understand confusion! These latter are, properly speaking, merely ordinary mortals. In ancient times, only a few people such as Nanquan and Guizong could be referred to as having vision free of both con
21
INSTANT ZEN
fusion and enlightenment. Students nowadays run off at the mouth talking about freedom from both confusion and enlight enment, but when have they ever actually arrived at it? Dont say things like that too easily! Since you still have doubts, now I will ask you something. When you were first conceived in your mothers womb, what did you bring with you? You had nothing whatsoever whefn you came, just mental consciousness, with no shape or form. Then when you die and give up the burden of the physical body, again you will have nothing at all but mental consciousness. At pre sent, in your travels and community life, this is the director. Now let me ask you something. We receive portions of energy from our father and mother through their sperm and egg; cling ing to what we receive, we call it our body. From the time of birth, as it gradually grows and matures, this body always belongs to the self. But tell me, does it belong to you or not? If you say it belongs to you, when first conceived you had nothing with you; when did the sperm and egg of your father and mother ever belong to you? Life can last a hundred years at most, further more, before the corpse is abandoned; when did it ever belong to you? And yet, if you say it doesnt belong to you, right now there is no possibility of taking anything away. When it is reviled you anger, when it is pained you suffer; how could it not belong to you? Try to determine whether you have anything there or not, and you will find you cannot determine, because your root of doubt is not cut through. If you say you have something there, while during the process of growth ftfom birth up to the age of twenty, there is no change in this certainty, but when you get to be forty or fifty the body changes and deteriorates from moment to moment, so you cannot say it is definitively there. But if you say there is nothing there, nevertheless you can perform all sorts of actions, so you cannot say there is nothing. Once upon a time, a man lost his way on a journey, so he
lodged in a vacant cottagc. 1 hat night a ght.si came*, can > a corpse. Then another ghost came and said, Thats my body! The first ghost said, I got it over yonder Then the second ghost snatched it away by force. The first ghost said, Theres a trav eler here who can stand witness! So the two ghosts approached the man and said, Who brought this corpse? The traveler reflected, Both of the ghosts are evil; at least one of them is sure to hurt me. Ive heard that if one avoids telling a falsehood when facing death, one will be born in heaven. So he pointed to the first ghost and said, This ghost brought it. Enraged, the second ghost tore out the travelers arms and legs. Now the first ghost, repentant and grateful, said, Your word of testimony for me has crippled you. So the first ghost used the corpse to patch the man up. The parts were again taken by the second ghost, and the first ghost repaired the man once again. Finally both ghosts wound up on the ground trying to eat the mans flesh as fast as they could, each one trying to get more than the other. When all of the mans flesh had been consumed, the ghosts left. Now the traveler saw his parents bodies right in front of his eyes, already devoured by the ghosts. Then he gazed upon his own changed body and wondered what it was. Is it me? Is it not me? Is it something? Is it nothing? He went crazing think ing about these things, and bolted off into the night. Eventually he came to a cloister. There he saw a mendicant, to whom he related the foregoing events. The mendicant saw that he would be easy to teach and to liberate, because he already knew tlf^t his body was not his possession. So the mendicant gave the t&vfeler a summary of the teaching, and he actually attained enlighftsfment after that. You people just talk about studying Zen by bringing up sto ries as if that were Buddhism. What I am talking about now is the marrow of Zen; why do you not wonder, find out, and under stand in this way? Your body is not there, yet not nothing. Its
23
INSTANT ZEN
presence is the presence of the body in the mind; so it has never been there. Its nothingness is the absence of the body in the mind; so it has never been nothing. Do you understand? If you go on to talk of mind, it too is neither something nor nothing; ultimately it is not you. The idea of something originally there now being absent, and the idea of something originally not there now being present, are views of nihilism and eternalism.
Saving Energy
application of Zen requires detachment from thoughts. This method of Zen saves the most energy. It just requires you to detach from emotional thoughts, and understand that there is nothing concrete in the realms of desire, form, and formlessness; only then can you apply Zen practically. If you try to practice it otherwise, it will seem bitterly painful by comparison. Once there was a disciplinarian monk who had kept the pre cepts all his life. As he was walking one night, he stepped on something that squished, which he imagined to be a frog, a mother frog laden with eggs. Mortified at the thought of having killed a pregnant frqg, when the monk went to sleep that night he dreamed that hundreds of frogs came to him demanding his life. He was utterly terrified. " Come morning, the monk went to look for the frog he had squashed, and found that it had only been an overripe eggplant. < * * At that moment, the monks perplexities abruptly ceased; real ising there is nothing concrete in the world, for the first time he was really able to apply it practically in life. Now I ask you, when he stepped on it by night, was it a frog or an eggplant? If it was a frog, yet when he looked at dawn it was an eggplant; if it was an eggplant, yet there were frogs demanding his life the night before. Can you decide? Ill try to decide for you:
e n e r a l l y speaking, p r a c t i c a l
Feelings o f frogs may be shed, but the idea o f eggplant remains. If you would be free o f the idea o f eggplant, strike the evening chime at noon.
z6
The Most Direct Approach

f f i
understand the essence that has always been there? There is not much to Buddhism; it only re quires you to see the way clearly. It does not tell you to extin guish random thoughts anci suppress body and mind, shutting your eyes and saying This is It! The matter is not like this. You must observe the present state. What is its logic? What is its guiding pattern? Why are you confused? This is the most direct approach. How ab6ut when I have not spoken to you, and you have not heard me; is there any point in coming and going? At such a time, do not make up forced rationalizations. From the Buddhas above to the totality of beings below, all is thus. In this sense, sages and ordinary people are equal, wrong and right are equal, samsara and nirvana are equal. Now I ask you, whose business are the ancient .Buddhas, and the genera tions of past, present and future? Whose business are the cont aminated lands of the ten directions'? I say, if you understand all this thirty years from now, you will reafizfthat I did tell you. Ju sf dont say, This is It! If you dp, that is caHttJthe view of an outsider.
h y d o n t y o u
27
Asleep
you are questioned and cannot speak, where is the fault? It is generally because of seeing forms where there is no form, hearing a voice where there is nothing said, forcing rationalizations where there is no reason, asserting con trol where there is no control. If you cannot get rid of this, that is referred to as diseased eyes still there, flowers in the sky fall in confusion. Why? Just because mind is still there; so you cannot speak. There is not much to Buddhism; it only requires you to make a statement plainly and simply, that is all. But what is a plain and simple statement? If someone asked me, Id say, Its already become two statements. Understand? An ancient said, The Buddhas and Zen masters have given a clear and detailed explanation of what is beyond words, but most of those who get here are confused, muddled, and uncom prehending. If you dont see this, you are asleep on your feet. You are always in the light, and yet do not know it, even with your eyes open. How do you expect me to do anything for you?
ig h t now if
28
No Seeing
I b r in g up one thing and another for you as I do, you think I am explaining Zen; but the minute you go into action you make it into worldly convention. Only if you keep your attention on it will you be able to make a discovery; but as I see, most of you just remain in eyes and ears, seeing and hearing, sensing and feeling youve already missed the point. You must find the nondiscriminatory mind without departing from the discriminating mind; find that which has no seeing or hearing without departing from seeing and hearing. This does not mean that no seeing is a matter of sitting on a bench with your eyes closed. You must have nonseeing right in seeing. This is why it is said, Live in the realm of seeing and hearing, yet unreached by seeing and hearing; live in the land of thought, yet untouched by thought.
h en
29
Independence
people come to me for? Each individual should lead life autonomously dont listen to what other people say. An ancient declared, I knew how to lead life by the time I was eighteen. You people must learn to live independently. You say, Lead what life? Just do not seek elsewhere. Most people today are compulsively active; this is already not knowing how to lead life. This is called abandoning home, scattering the family, and becoming a drifter. Clearly this is not understanding. Just searching and seeking, studying a bit of intellectual knowl edge, memorizing a few sayings, is called hauling manure inside. When you get here, your actions have to be truly accurate; eventually it will sink in thoroughly, and then you will under stand. An ancient said, Everywhere is you. Go eat, and its you; go west, and its you. Who are you? If you say, Me, this is emotional and intellectual consciousness, which you must pass through before you attain realization. In ancient times Vasubandhu asked Asanga, Elder brother, when you went to the inner palace, what teaching did Maitreya expound to you? Asanga replied, He expounded this teach ing. Now tell me, what teaching is this? You must be able to discern it before you can realize it. Dont fixjcecognition on this. Many people have been fooled by the term this. That is why they speak of illness as if it were medicine. Therefore we say they are pitiful.
h a t d o you
30
In Tune
is speaking right now is It; thats not quite right. As soon as there is an affirmation, then there is a denial. That is the reason why it is said, that no verbal expres sions correspond to this reality. What you must do is live in harmony with it. This matter is not in another; but are you in tune with it? And if you are in tune, in tune with whom? If you say you are in tune with the ancients, the ancients are gone. If you say you are in tune with a teacher, a teacher has no connection with you. This is why the sages compassionately told us to tune into the source of our own minds. Now tell me, what is the source of mind, to which one tunes in on ones own? If you mindfully try to tune into mind, you will definitely be unable to tune in. You have to tune in with mindless mind.
o n t say w h a t
31
Learning Zen
attuned twenty-four hours a day before you attain realization. Have you not read how Lingyun suddenly tuned in to this reality on seeing peach blossoms, how Xiangyan set his mind at rest on hearing the sound of bamboo being hit? An ancient said, If you are not in tune with this reality, then the whole earth deceives you, the environment fools you. The reason for all the mundane conditions abundantly present is just that this reality has not been clarified. I urge you for now to first detach from gross mental objects. Twenty-four hours a day you think about clothing, think about food, think all sorts of vari ous thoughts, like the flame of a candle burning unceasingly. Just detach from gross mental objects, and whatever subtle ones there are will naturally clear out, and eventually yoi! will come to understand spontaneously; you dont need to seek. This is called putting conceptualization to rest and forgetting mental objects, not being a partner to the dusts. This is why the ineffable message of Zen is to be understood on ones own. I have no Zen for you to study, no Doctrine for you to discuss. I just want you to tune in on your own. The only essential thing in learning Zen is to forget mental objects and stop rumination. This is the message of Zen since time immemorial. Did not one of the Patriarchs say, Freedom from thoughts is the source, freedom from appearances is the substance ? If you just shout and dap, when will you ever be done?
o u m u s t be
32
The Basis of Awareness
the mind is always calm; go along with things, and consciousness runs at a gallop. I only wish to be rich in enlightenment though personally poor, gen erous with virtue though emotionally aloof. Here, I am thus every day, thus all the time. But tell me, what is thus ? Try to express it outside of discriminatory conscious ness, intellectual assessments, and verbal formulations. This reality is not susceptible to your intellectual under standing. Now those who think, attend, and reflect all have some intellectual understanding; but then when they ttorn back to examine their own eyes and think of the mind that thinks, at this point why do people unknowingly say, It has never been blue, yellow, red, or white; it has no appearance, no form ? I tell you, this is what I cail talk; it is not your original mind. How can you think of your original mind? How can you see your own eye? When you are looking inward, furthermore, there is no seeing subject. Some people swallow this in one gulp, so theirêye of insight opens wide and they immediately arrive at their hoKfeland. ^ o How can jM&ple nowadays/each the point where there is no seeing and no hearing? Every/hing is always there; you see peo ple, houses, and all sorts of forms, like boiling water bubbling. When you were infants, you also h ekrd îp is and saw forms, but you didnt know how to aiscrimi^SSf Onceôu a K || to the
xp an d e n lig h te n m e n t, a n d
33
age of reason, then you listened to discriminatory thinking, and from that time on have suffered a split between the primal and the temporal. At this point, it is inevitably hard for people to restore nat ural order even if they want to. Those who attain enlightenment do not see walking when they walk, and do not ste sitting when they sit. That is why the Buddha said, The eyes seeing forms is equivalent to blindness; the ears hearing sounds is equivalent to deafness. How can we say we are as if blind and deaf? When we hear sound, there is no sound to be heard; when we see form, there is no form to be seen. What we see and hear is all equivalent to an echo. It is like seeing all sorts of things in a dream is there all that when you wake up? If you say yes, yet theres only the blanket and pillow on the bed; if you say no, yet all those things are clearly registered in your mind, and you can tell what they were. The same is true of what you see and hear now in broad daylight. So it is said, what can be seen by the eye or heard by the ear can be studied in the scriptures and treatises; but what about the basis of awareness itself how do you study that?
34
Just Being There
Where is Shakyamuni, the Buddha? What? What? Where is Bodhidharma, Founder o f Zen? Just there. explain the logic of just being there? Its un avoidably hard to clarify. If you can clarify this, you will finally know that true reality is always there. Many Zen specialists say, The mention itself is It. Then what about when youre dying, ortoo sick to speak? It is nec essary to penetrate this experientially before youll get it. Have you not read how a seeker asked >eshan, Where have the ancient sages gone? Deshan said, What? What? Does that mean that what is itself the sages? You people either interpret literally or else fall into conven tional echoes of what is said. If you dont fall into echolike expres sions, then you fall into wordlessness land speechlessness* This feality you actually cannot figure out by conceptual inter* '0 i . pretations;fF you keep any of that on your mind, it turns into anoinclination, afenating you from your self. Even if you try to attain harmony by means of mystic devices and wondrous docow d o you
35
Two Sicknesses
studying Zen learn it wrongly, it is because of no more than two sicknesses. One sickness is speechless, formless motionlessness in the haunt of the mind-body complex, where you say, Even if the Buddhas and Zen Patriarchs came forth, I would still just be thus. This is one sickness. Next is to give recognition to that which speaks, hears, works, acts, walks, stands, sits, and reclines. This is also a sickness. Do you know that activity is the root of suffering, sustained by the power of wind? If people can get away from these two sicknesses and can engage in total investigation, someday they should wake up. Otherwise, there is no cleaning things up. There are also two kinds of benefactors who speak bitterly as an expedient for two kinds of students. Students of one type make up rationales on their own and express things on their own, advancing and withdrawing, rais ing their fists and joining their palms, thinking this to be the way of Zen. Benefactors, seeing them this way, speak bitterly to them, saying, You have misunderstood. Why is your attention so fix ated when there is really no problem? This is one kind of bene factor. Another type of student says, I do not understand, I do not know. Why? Because I am not tuned in at all. Therefore bene
h e n p e o p le t o d a y
36
factors, seeing people thus, tell them, There is nothing the mat ter with you; why do you seek to understand and tune in? This is another kind of benefactor. If both the former and latter types of students hear benefac tors speaking like this, and are able to turn their attention around and study through experience, they will inevitably attain clari fication. If they just say they dont understand, they are creating their own stagnation; even after a thousand years they would just be the same. Fortunately, you are in its very midst; if you go on saying you do not understand and seek to tune in to it, when will you ever be done? Do you want to understand? You must not set up limited measurements; you must apprehend it directly before you can get it.
37
Mind Itself
you an illustration. People have eyes, by which they can see all sorts of forms, like long and short, square and round, and so on; then why do they not see themselves? Just perceiving forms, you cannot see your eyes even if you want to. Your mind is also like this; its light shines perceptively through out the ten directions, encompassing all things, so why does it not know itself? Do you want to understand? Just discern the things perceived; you cannot see the mind itself. An ancient said, The knife does not cut itself, the finger does not touch itself, the mind does not know itself, the eye does not see itself. This is true reality.
e t me g iv e
38
Seeing Through
ou p eo p le h a v e been standing here for quite a while; have you seen a single real teacher yet? Dont keep on standing there for nothing. I am only what I call a provisional elder. An ancient sage said, apropos of this, Just using provisional terminology to guide people, Buddha was an old Indian mendicant, who did not trou ble you to discriminate appearances and grasp forms. What is Shakyamuni the Buddha? Who is Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen? Was there any Buddhism before the founder came here? How can you say there^vas norje? If you say there was none, that is just self-deception. When Bodhidharma was facing a wall for nine years, were there so many verbal teach ings and public cases? To see through in this way is a very eco nomical shortcut. When you had not come here, I had not seen you and you had not seen me. If you do not see me and I do not see you, how can there be discernment and clarification? If you can attain clar ification^, what else is the matter? Before Bffddha appeared in the world, it was thus; after Bud dha appeared iriftlie world it was also thus, and after Buddha passed away it was still thus. If you arrive a t this state of thusness, there is really nothing the matter at aU |^ As you people go about your daily acti(ri^p|jLnd take care of your needs as they arise, how can yqrtTsa^ tnjê is nothing
39
the matter? O nly those who have actually seen it can know it is so.
In ancient times, when Kasyapa the Elder paid respects to the Buddha at the assembly on Spiritual Peak, on seeing the vast crowd in a state of dignified composure, he had an insight and said, This immense crowd here now is as if it had never been. You tell me, what does this mean? A while ago you people were in your own places, where you didnt see so many people. Now that youre here, clearly you see a considerable number of people. How can you say thby are as if they had never been? In olden times, a certain old adept asked a seeker, Where have you just come from? The seeker replied, The city. The adept said, Where are you now? The seeker said, The moun tains. The adept said, I have a question to ask you. If you can answer, you may stay. If not, then leave. Now then, when you left the city, the city was lacking you; when you came to the mountains, the mountains had you extra. If you are absent in the city, the reality of mind is not universally omnipresent; if you are an extra in the mountains, then there is something outside of mind. The seeker had nothing to say. If you can comprehend this, as it is said, you will not fall into nihilism or eternalism; your six sense faculties will be peaceful, and you will be tranquil and quiet whether active or still. One mind unborn, myriad entanglements cease. Otherwise, if you are not like this, you fall into nihilism or eternalism, depending on being or nonbeing. This is like run ning away from home. At this point, I really do not tell you to expend the slightest bit of effort; you will then get an understanding in this way. If you want to harmonize with this reality, making it so there is no gap, then you have already split away from it. When I contemplated this matter in the past, I used to think it would take two or three lifetimes to attain enlightenment.
40
Later, on hearing that someone had an awakening, or someone had an insight, I realized that people today can also become enlightened. A t times when it is possible to minimize involve ments, study your self clearly; this is very important.
(
o
41
Speaking Effectively
question you, how would you speak? Can you speak effectively? If you can only speak after think ing and concentrating, what use is your statement? At midnight, how do you speak? Getting up at*dawn, how do you speak? In the hallway, in the washroom, how do you speak? Can you speak effectively? Your eyes must be clear before you can.
f so m e o n e s h o u l d
Naked Realization
assistant came and announced that the rain isnt stopping, and people may not be able to hear if a meeting is held in the rain. Supposed the rajn stopped right now then would you hear? I say its best when the rain doesnt stop. Why? Because you are not deliberately trying to listen. How about when they say the sound of the rain has given you a sermon? Is that correct? I do not agree; the sound of the rain is you giving a sermon. But do you understand? Clarify it directly^ then what else is there? People who go journeying to study Zen today should bring a statement to harmonize with the teacher. Why do you pain yourself and cramp yourself as you do? Let me also ask you, what teacher would you harmonize with? If you want to harmonize with a teacher, just get to know your own mind. NoSvJet me ask you, what is your mind? And how do you know it ? ^ V o Here you cMnot force an understanding; you must actually look inward and discover it. The ancients had no choice but to make provisional expla nations where there is no explanation, employing ex pedient means where there are no e^pediîd^)ne day when Xuansha went into the mountains, he encountered a tiger. His
u st now an
43
1N S 1 A > . 1 / I'.N
assistant told him there was a tiger there, but Xuansha just said, Its your tiger. Now with mountains and rivers crisscrossing the land, domains of existence everywhere, discriminating thoughts branching off in a thousand ways and diverging in a million ways, how can you explain this logicfof its yours ? If you dont understand this, you will be fatally obstructed everywhere. Its just because you have been following material senses and been influenced by things since time immemorial. You try to point out what are things, and what are you? This is why a seeker asked Xuansha, I have just entered the community; please show me a way of access. Xuansha said, Do you hear the sound of the valley stream? The seeker said, Yes. Xuansha said, Gain access from here. Nowadays people do not clearly understand this story, sim ply saying, The essence of mind is omnipresent; who else hears? What relevance has this sort of discourse? You must be com pletely naked before you will attain realization. For now I ask you, have you dressed? You can be so shameless!
AA
Seeing Mind
so o n as
you rationalize, îts hard to understand; you
must refrain from rationalization before you can attain realization. Hearing such talk, some people immediately declare, I have nothing to say at all, and no reason either. They do not realize this is in fact a rationalization! I will settle something for you right now: the ultimate rule is to see your own mind clearly. This is what Buddhism is, as far as I am concerned. An aficient said, The mind does not know itself, the mind does not see itself. So how can you see it clearly? Even though its your own mind, its hard to see. All the sages since time immemorial have been people who clearly saw their own minds. My late teacher was someone who saw his own mind, but among those here who were also associated with him in the past, there are very few who clearly see their own minds. Miftd does not see mind; to get it, you must not see it as mind. This is a feahn apart from thoughts. Now if I sa^this to people, they think I am criticizing every one else, but if I do not talk about it, it will be hard to elucidate. Zen teachers of a certain type say to people, Fools! Why dont you understand this thing? First they qjahâcliche of your own mind, then try to use the mind t< |^ a |p d ^ ;, This is called driving a spike into a stump and then runnine6ind and round
45
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the stump. They pass it on this way, and it is taken up this way, knocking on their chairs and holding up their whisks. This is called trying to use the mind by means of the mind. There is another type of Zen teacher who tells people not to make logical assessments, that they lose contact the minute they speak, and should recognize the primordial. This kind of teacher has no explanation at all. This is like sitting on a bal loon where is there any comfort in it? It is also like the croak ing of a bullfrog. If you entertain such a view, it is like being trapped in a black fog. I am exhorting you in utter seriousness; I am not lying, I am not making up rationalizations to trap people, I will not Allow people to oppress the free. I have no such reasons. If you rec ognize this, that is up to you. If you say you also see this way, that is up to you. If you say that everything is all right accord ing to your perception, that is up to you. If you say your mind is still uneasy, that is up to you. You can only attain realization if you dont deceive yourself. There are quite a few Zen teachers in the world, talking about Zen, talking about Tao. Do you think they are self-deceived, or not self-deceived? Do you think they are deceiving others, or not deceiving others? It is imperative to discern minutely. In the old days, when I was in the school of my late teacher, I once accepted an invitation to go somewhere. On the way I ran into a downpour and slipped in the mud. Feeling annoyed, I said to myself, I am on the journey but have been unable to attain Zen. I havent eaten all day, and now have to endure this misery too! Then I happened to hear two people ranting at each other, Youre still annoying yourself! When I heard this, I suddenly felt overjoyed. Then I realized I couldnt find the state where there is no annoyance. That was because I couldnt break through my feeling of doubt. It took me four or five years after that to attain this knowledge. Now you should exercise your attention in this way. I have
46
brought up the saying that inanimate things teach, but many are those who misunderstand. When you see inanimate things, you say theyre inanimate, and when you see animate beings you consider them animate. If you who study Zen do not understand the teaching of the inanimate, how can you understand the task of the journey? If those who act as teachers do not understand the teaching of the inanimate, how can they deal with people in beneficial ways? I urge you to examine closely enough to effect an awaken ing. If you do not yet have an awakened perspective, then ap proach it in a relaxed manner; do not rush.
47
Discovery
to tell a metaphysical story. Suppose two people from a foreign country come to a great nation to investigate things. When they first enter the territory, the two have a discussion and decide to part ways; one will go east, the other west. From state to state they go, county to county, trav eling over hill and dale, until they arrive at the eastern capital. The two suddenly run into each other at the gate of the capital city. As they look at each other, without saying a word, the things they had discussed in their own country are clear. Now they go in, side by side, unknown to anyone. Strange! Tell me, how is it when they run into each, other? It is like Zen practitioners working: today they realize a little bit, tomorrow they find out a little bit, and they keep on investigat ing until one day it becomes evident to them. This is like that encounter at the gate of the capjtal city. This is called awaken ing, or breakthrough, or discovery. You must attain this at least once; only then can it be said that the task of the journey is done. It is also like meeting your father in a big city many years after having left your home town. You do not need to ask any one whether or not it is your father. Just keep focused in this way. Do not take it for idleness; time does not wait for anyone. An early teacher said, Dont waste time! Each of you should work on your own.
y t ea c h er u sed
48
Show the Truth
There is no drumf sound in a bell, and no bell sound in a drum. How can students today manage to reach this state? Sometimes when I give personal interviews, you make a statement, and then when I press you further you merely insist you have already replied, and there could be nothing else. Quite clearly, if you work in this way you have not got a grip on the matter at all. Idiots! Havent you read the saying of ancient sages, Show the truth in every word, refer to the source in every statement. You do not yet understand; you just adopt positions at random. Dont be like this any more when you come for interviews. While it can be said you do not understand, you can be straightened, out.
n a n c ie n t sa id ,
49
Real Zen
to be Zennists must trust in what people who know say before they will attain it. If you do not believe, you make all talk useless. If you just listen without believing to the talks of people who know, how can you be called Zennists? Real Zennists understand it all when the grass ben s in the breeze, when dust rises in the wind; they discern immediately before any signals have occurred, before falling into trains of thought, before anything stirs. Only then can one be called a Zennist. Why? This thing is used against birth and death, so you have to be someone whos not far off in order to get it. Havent you read how Yunyan studied with Baizhang for twenty years without clarifying this matter? His elder brother Daowu bit his finger to the quick out of concern for him. See how that man of old still did not worry even though he hadnt clarified this matter, saying he did not understand. His will never gave out, and he didnt go chasing after verbal expressions either. And how about master Xuefeng, who went to Touzi three tim^s and Dongshan nine times! When he was at Touzis school, one day he rolled up the screen and entered the hermitage. When Touzi saw -him coming, he got off his bench and stood. Xuefeng hesitated, searching for something to say; Touzi pushed him out. Xuefeng could only cry. Later, when he went to Dongshan, he was still unable to understand. Then, when he
h o se w h o c l a im
50
went to Deshan, he asked, Has the student a part in the enlight enment of the sages of time immemorial? Deshan hit him and exclaimed, What are you saying! At that, Xuefengs mind opened up, like a bucket with the bottom fallen out. When he got to Tortoise Mountain, however, he said he still had some doubt. See how that man of old would not rest until his mass of doubt had been broken up. So it is said, The task done, the mind rests; this actuality, after all, is everywhere you find it. Nowadays most Zen students create interpretations based on words, arbitrarily assuming mastery, or else they take^tories of the ancients awakenings and look at them, calling this gazing at sayings. What relevance is there? When Xuefeng went to Touzi three times and Dongshan nine times, do you suppose he did it for the sake of words? You should simply step back and study through total expe rience. How do you step back? I am not telling you to sit on a bench with your eyes closed, rigidly suppressing body and mind, like earth or wood. That will never have any usefulness, even in a million years. When you want to step back, if there are any sayings or sto ries you dont understand, place them in front of you, step back and see for yourself why you dont understand. Professional monks say, Thinking will not do; not thinking will not do either. Then how do they teach people to contem plate? I tell you, just step back and look. Phew! Sure gives people trouble! Sure is hard to understand! But k>q^ here what is it that troubles people? Who is it that troubles arffone? Step back and look in this way; gradually you will wake up, TO#h each passing day illumination will expand and enlarge. And yet, you should not fanatically recognize this alone and immediately claim perfect attainment, k>r^| t o you are depen dent and fixated. Then it will be ineffe tH ^ fe must apply some wisdom in your observation.
2 3
51
INSTANT ZEN
The ancients allowed you to focus on a route: if you stop and step back in this way, I guarantee there is a reason. This is what is considered incomprehensible and not susceptible to knowledge. There is also a type who talks wildly and speaks at random, questioning this and that. Again, just step back and look; what is it that talks wildly and speaks randomly? Just turn your atten tion around and reflect. Go on working like this, and eventually you will be sure to awaken. If you dont believe it, theres noth ing I can do about that. When I first called on a certain teacher, he taught me to con template this saying: What is the great meaning of Buddhism? Next to the city of the King of Chu, the river flows eastward. He also taught me to contemplate the saying, Its not the move ment of the wind, nor the movement of the flag, but the move ment of your mind. Then when I left and went to call on teachers all over the land, I asked them questions. The ancients were wholly true to reality, and the old teachers explained in countless ways, but I simply could not understand. Finally I left to travel to eastern China, but halfway there I turned around and came back. Now I was told to contemplate the story, If you kill your parents, you repent before Buddha; if you kill Buddha, where do you repent? Yunmen said, Ex posed. This case study is like a hot iron ball in the mind, and I suffered all kinds of trouble for seven years. Those of you who have studied Zen for a long time will know what I mean. Let me tell you another story. When Huaitang started to study Zen, he first saw Yunfeng Yue. For three years, he could not understand what Yunfeng was talking about. He also studied with Zen^Tnaster Nan, and after two years still did not under stand. Then he went to spend a summer retreat in a cloister. In Transmission o f the Lam p , he read the story where someone asked Duofu, What is the bamboo grove of Duofu? He replied,
S2.
J V C 1.I1
.K n
One cane, two canes slanted. At this, Huaitang finally opened up and awakened. Nowadays people just call these dialogues. This is because of lack of precision in applying effort, failing to understand the expedient devices of the ancients. I urge each of you, since you are already in a society, to study the path independently, not spending any time uselessly, taking enlightenment as your rule.
53
Wonder
companions is a serious recom mendation of the ancient sages. Students today should fol low the words of the Buddhas and Patriarchs by finding a teacher to attain discernment. Otherwise, how can you call yourselves students? If you want to clarify this matter, you must arouse wonder and look into it. If you wonder deeply about this matter, tran scendental knowledge will become manifest. Why? The task of the journey just requires the sense of doubt to cease. If you do, not actively wonder, how can the sense of doubt cease? My teacher was thirty-five years old before he became a monk. He stayed in the city of Chengdu to listen to lectures on The Hundred Phenomena as Only Representation . There he heard a saying of how when a Buddhist enters the path of insight, knowledge and principle merge, environment and mind join, and there is no distinction between that which realizes and that which is realized. A Hindu challenged the Buddhists, If there is no distinction between what realizes and what is realized, what is used as proof? No one could answer this challenge, so the Buddhists were declared the losers in debate. Later the Buddhist canonical master of Tang came to the rescue of the doctrine: When knowledge and principle merge, environment and mind unite, it is like when drinking water one spontaneously knows whether it is cool or warm.
s s o c i a t i o n w it h g o o d
54
What about the travels of my late teacher calling on teach ers why did he later say he questioned an aged grandfather? What about selling and buying oneself what is that? You should realize there is no excess; what the man of old said is all you. He also said, I have never had a single statement to reach you. If I had a statement to reach you, what use would it be? Do you want your feeling of doubt broken? You too must be like my late teacher once before you can accomplish it.
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Now my teacher thought, It may be cool or warm, all right; but what is this business of spontaneous knowing? He won dered and questioned very deeply. He asked the lecturer about the principle of spontaneous knowing, but the lecturer couldnt answer; instead, he said, If you want to clarify this principle, I cannot explain it, but in the South there are adejfts who have found out the source of the enlightened mind; they know about this matter. You will have to journey for it. So my teacher went traveling. He went to the capital city, and all around the eastern riverlands, asking every Zen adept he could find about this matter. And everyone he asked gave him a reply. Some explained, some spoke in aphorisms. In any case, his feeling of doubt remained unbroken. Later he came to Fushan. Seeing that everything Fushan said in lectures and interviews was relevant to what was in his mind, he wound up staying for a year. Fushan had him contemplate the phrase, Buddha had a secret saying, Kasyapa didnt conceal it. One day Fushan said to him, Why didnt you come earlier? You should go call on Baiyun Duan. So my teacher went to Baiyun. One day when he went into the teaching auditorium, all of a sudden he realized great enlightenment. Buddha has a secret saying, Kasyapa didnt conceal it of course! Of course! When knowledge and principle merge, environment and mind unite, it is like when one drinks water one spontaneously knows whether its warm or cool. How true these words are! Then he composed a verse on his attainment: At an idle patch o f field before the mountain Politely I question an aged grandfather. H ow many times have I sold and bought myself? Charmingly, the pine and bamboo draw a clear breeze. When Baiyun read this, he nodded. Is this not a case of doubt ing and wondering profoundly, approaching people who know, and only then succeeding in clarification?
55
Just This
of Grand Maestro Ma: seeing a monk going downstairs, the Maestro called to him, O Worthy! When the monk turned his head, the Maestro said, From birth to death, its just this person; why turn your head and revolve your brains? That monk understood the essential message at these words. What is the logic of this? From birth to death, its just this person. Tell me, what person is it? As soon as you arouse the intention to see this person, then you do not see this person. This person is hard to see. Very, very hard. People today simply say, This is this person who else is there? There couldnt be any other. Ninety-nine out of a hundred understand in this way; what grasp have they? If you interpret in this way, how can you understand the njatter of from birth to death, and how can you immediately see it as just this person ? If you do not see this person, you have no idea how your mo|tal^being will end up. WK&t ^bqut this lecturing and listening right now is there actually lectur^g and listening, or is there no lecturing and lis tening? If you say you are standing there while I am sitting here, I am lecturing and you are listening, anj^villager can say such things how can you call yourselves If you say there is no lecturing and no listening, still h e ^ jp ^ p ^ |iitaaaat from birth to death, its just this person
o n s id e r t h e c a s e
57
Therefore, when you get to this point, you need to find a real ized individual to discern precisely. Before I had understood, I was totally helpless, so I asked of my teacher. As soon as Id ask a question, my teacher would just say, I dont understand. I dont know. Im not as good as you. I also asked if Zen is ultimately easy to learn or hard to learn. He just told me, Youre alright; why are you asking about difficulty and ease? Learning Zen is called a gold and dung phe nomenon. Before you understand it, its like gold; when under stood, its like dung. I didnt accept this at the time, but now that Ive thought it over, although the words are coarse the mes sage in them is not shallow. These are examples of how perfectly realized people never utter a single word or half a phrase without purpose. Whenever they try to help others, they never give random instructions, and they do not approve people arbitrarily. Nowadays there are teach ers all over who sometimes speak correctly and sometimes speak without a grasp. Why? Because they have not yet attained per fect realization. Sometimes they approve people and say they are right, but then sometimes they say they are not right; how is it possible to clarify from birth to death, its just this person in such a manner? When you look closely, you see that people of the present are none other than people of yore, and the functions of the pre sent are none other than the functions of the past; even going through a thousand changes and myriad transformations, here it is just necessary for you to recognize it first hand before you can attain it. The reason people today cannot attain it is just because they do not know how to distinguish it with certitude. How is it that they carjnot distinguish it with certainty? They just make up interpretations of ancient sayings, boring into them subjectively. If you just do this, you will never understand. Why? I tell you, if you turn your head and revolve your brains, youre already
58
wrong. The most economical way here is to save energy, not ask ing about this and that but clearly apprehending it in the most direct manner. You people first came forth with rationalizations, using ancient sayings to wrap and bind yourself. Its like scattering a handful of dirt on a clean surface. I have told you that you should not come here now as you were before. You must attain an understanding before this is possible. Some say, I was just so before, and I am just so now. Right away you run into emotional consciousness. How can I blame you? The ancients were so compassionate as to tell you, Walking is Buddha walking, sitting is Buddha sitting, all things are Buddha teaching, all sounds are Buddhas voice. You have misunderstood, supposing that all sounds are actually the voice of Buddha and all forms are really forms of Buddha. Since it is not admissible to understand in this way, then what would be right? I tell you, the instant you touch upon signals, youre already alienated; when you want to manifest it by means of the light of knowledge, youve already obscured it. Now, dont hold onto my talk; each of you do your own work independently. You may contemplate the stories of ancients, you may sit quietly, or you may watch attentively everywhere; all of these are ways of doing the work. Everywhere is the place for you to attain realization, but concentrate on one point for days and months on end, and you will surely break through. When Guling returned from his journey, his mentor asked him/-Yfljj left me to go traveling; what did you attain? Guling said, I saw ^ izh an g and attained peace and bliss. Then he "quoted a verse by Baizhang: v The spiritual light, shining independently, transcends the senses and the essence is revealed, realtimt not confined to written words.
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The nature o f mind has no stain; it is basically complete o f itself Just detach from false mental objects and be enlightened to being-as-is. On hearing these words, the old mentor realized enlighten ment. Also, master Xuefeng, on seeing a breeze stirring taro leaves, pointed them out to a student. The student said, I am quite frightened. Xuefeng clucked his tongue and said, Its an event in your own house; why are you afraid? That student then had an awakening too. Since the whole time is an event in your own house, why dont you understand? Because you wander off everywhere, you are not at home all the time. But now that youre facing a teacher, dont let yourself forget. This is called acting according to rea son, knowing the ultimate within oneself. From birth to old age, its just this person; why turn your head and revolve your brains? Each of you look into this on your own.
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Keep Evolving
just now understood, where is that which you couldnt understand before? If you cant understand now, when will you understand? Just examine over and over in this way, and you should come to understand. That is why it is said, What you misunderstood before is what you now understand; what you now understand is what you misunderstood before. It is also said, When light comes, darkness vanishes; when knowledge comes into play, confusion is forgotten. But can it actually be so? How can it be so? That would mean there is dark ness to be destroyed and there is confusion to be removed. Have you not read the ancient saying, Dont change the former per son, just change the former behavior. You Zen followers say, What is the difficulty? Misunder standing is just this person, and understanding is just this per son. There can be no other. But then when asked what this persqn is, you are helpless; or else you talk at random. This is becau&etftfîot having attained truly accurate realization. This o is a disease tfc^t has entered your bones and marrow. People in error attach recognition to a lifetime of cessation. Indeed, they stop not only for one lifetime, but for a thou sand lifetimes, myriad lifetimes. As fb i^ |^ ^ they should know how to e x p e r i e n t i a l l y who this per son is, directly seeking an insight.
f yo u h ave
61
Whew! Buddhism today is lackluster; even in large groups its hard to find suitable people. As long as you people are here studying the path in this school, you should not waste the twentyfour hours of the day; focus on attaining insight. You people are still not far off; have you not read how master Linji said, There is a true person of no rank in the naked mass of flesh, always going out and coming in the doors of your senses; those who havent witnessed it, look! At that time, a student came forward and asked, What is the true person of no rank? Linji got out of his chair, grabbed the student, and said, Speak! Speak! The student hesitated, trying to think of something, so Linji pushed him away. Linji also said, Your eyes radiate a light that shines through the mountains and rivers. The ancients were so compassionate, y^t people today dont take it to heart, so they need to look for someone to find certainty. Have you not read how Yantou, Xuefeng, and Jinshan went to see Linji, then met Elder Ding on the way? Yantou asked, Where are you coming from? Ding said, From Linji. Yantou inquired, Is the teacher well? Ding said, The teacher has passed away. Yantou said, We came especially to pay respects to the teacher Linji, but now we hear he has passed away, and we do not know what he said. Please quote an example or two of his sayings. Ding then cited the foregoing story about Linjis saying, There is a true person of no rank in the mass of naked flesh, always going out and coming in through the doors of your senses; those who have not yet witnessed it, look! When a student came forward and asked what the true person of no rank is, Linji got out of his chair, grabbed the student, and said, Speak! Speak! When the student hesitated, trying to think up something to say, Linji pushed him away and said, What a dry turd the true per son of no rank is! Then Linji went back to his quarters. Hearing this recital, Yantou was stunned. Jinshan remarked, Why didnt he say, In the mass of naked flesh is not a true per
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son of no rank ? Ding grabbed him and said, Tell me, how far apart are a true person of no rank and not a true person of no rank? Speak quickly! Jinshans face paled, then clouded. Yantou and Xuefeng both said, Please forgive this novice for insulting you, Elder. Ding remarked, If it hadnt been for you two old guys, Id have punched this little bed-wetter out! Look: when Jinshan said, Not a true person of no rank, why did Ding not agree? How can students today reach such a state? They just recognize the mortal body and forcibly act as if they were in charge, unable to let go of it. Now I will cite some stories for you to consider. Xuefeng called on Touzi and asked, Is there anyone to call on here? Touzi threw down his hoe. Xuefeng said, Then Ill dig right where I am. Touzi said, Dullard! Even though he said he would dig right where he was, he was still called a dullard. When Great Elder Nanji met Xuefeng, their conversation was in complete accord. Xuefeng sent him to see Xuansha. Xuansha asked, An ancient said, Only I can know this. How do you understand? Nanji said, You should realize there is someone who does not seek to know. Xuansha said, % 9 You are a Great Elder why go to so much trouble? What is the logic of this? When my late teacher was in the school of Master Baiduan, the master cited an ancient saying, It is like a mirror casting images; when an image is formed, where has the shine of the mirror gone? At the time, there were a number of students in the group who offered replies, but the master did not accept any ofcthm. In those days, my teacher was working as a fundraiser; when h#came back, Baiduan cited the foregoing saying and ^sked him abqOt it. M y teacher approached, offered greetings, and said, Still not far off. Baiduan clapped and laughed. Every one thought Baiduan was pressing to make him chief fundraiser; what kind of talk is that? "* Here I only require you to study first priority, twenty-four hours a day, should be ro get rurof unenlightened 63
I . v : N 1 /. 1 . iN
egotism toward others. Why? Egotism toward others is the busi ness of mediocrities. My late teacher never had any egotism toward others. As his assistant I saw quite a lot, but I never saw him have a single thought of annoyance. Once when he was at Haihui, there was a certain senior monk serving as superintendent of hospitality. When my late teacher sent a great elder to lead the community at Sihai, he had the superintendent of hospitality escort him. The senior spat in my teachers face and said, Who are you to tell me to escort him? He kept on with this vile talk, so my teacher finally gave up. No one knew about this. Later, when my teacher came to Taiping, he nominated that individual to be keeper of the treasury, and also made him assembly leader. My teacher himself asked to be made superintendent of the institution, and even nominated the other for the abbacy there at Taiping. The governor did not approve of this appointment, and the super intendent reviled my teacher, saying he did not support him strongly enough. Now my teacher finally spoke out; This fel low, he said, has hollered at me twice! By this we can see he had no egotism toward others. People now want to understand theoretically at once, as soon as anything is said. How can you learn the way in this fashion? Sometimes I see beginners come to interviews helpless to do any thing about the fact that I have already seen through them. They are like villagers armed with carrying poles trying to do battle with a general. Here I am fully equipped; in my hand is the hun dred-pound sword of a legendary warrior, while they have noth ing but a carrying pole. They strike a blow, and, seeing the man not move, they strike several more times and leave. Its not that I fear them; its because they are no match for me. Ha, ha! I-urge you not to be crude minded. In your conduct, day and night, keep evolving higher; then even if you do not attain enlight enment, you will still be a highly refined individual. Be sure to be attentive.
64
Approval
s s o o n a s you accept and approve anything, recognizing it as your own, you are immediately bound hand and foot and cannot move. So even if there are a thousand possibilities, nothing is right once you have recognized, accepted, and approved it as your own. It is like making a boat and outfitting it for a long journey to a land of treasures, then as soon as you get started you drive a stake in the ground and tie the boat down, then row with all your might. You may row till the end of time, but you will still be at the shore. You see the boat moving from side to side, and think you are on the move; but actually you havent gotten any where. It is also like someone turning a millstone, going round and round in circles from morning till night. What a laugh! If some one whose eyes are unclear saw you fixated on recognition and told you it was right, hed been seen through by someone with tle$r eyes; on examination, there would be quite a few loose ends. These d&ys quite a few just employ this path of right now, totally unable to get out of the immediate present. Nailed down in this way, they try to study Zen without getting the essential point. Once they have taken it up, A ey M ^ a lre a d y misunder stood; acting as if they were in change; not realize Bud dhism is not understood in this way.
65
INSTANT ZEN
Have you not read how Magu met Zhangjing, staff in hand? Magu shook the staff once and stood there serenely. Zhangjing said, Yes! He also met Nanquan the same way, and Nanquan said, N o! Magu said, Zhangjing said yes; how can you say no? Nanquan said, Zhangjing is right, hut you are wrong. This is vulnerable to outside influences, and ultimately disinte grates. Only then did Magu see his error. Look, people: if you are about to misunderstand your whole life, how can you not go to someone to find certainty? When I first went on my journey, I read verses by my teacher and immediately believed this man spoke like the ancient sages and must have genuine realization. So I studied with him for ten years. One of those verses said, To learn the way, first you must find out the ultimate point; hearing sound and seeing form are inconceivable. I f you discuss high and low based on words, its just like before you were enlightened. Another verse said, There is a road to emptiness; everyone arrives. Those who arrive then realize the excellence o f the aim. The mind ground does not grow useless plants and trees; naturally the body spontaneously radiates clear light. When I was young, even though I had not attained the way, in my heart I knew these were extraordinary lines. But how about hearing sound and seeing form? They are both conceivable; how 66
\pprovai
can they be inconceivable? Then when he talks about realiza tion, he turns around and says, Its just like before you were enlightened. Everything before enlightenment is conceivable; how can you see a realization? This man attained nonattain ment; only when you reach the ultimate stage can you be like this. Only after ten years did I actually understand him. Generally speaking, when you go journeying to learn the path to enlightenment, you seek. Do not sit ignorantly, but go to some one to find out the truth with certainty. When this truth is hard to realize, that is called unfinished business. Have you not heard it said that once you realize, then theres a difference? Yesterday one had breakfast and dinner, today one has breakfast and din ner is it the same person as before? Theres a difference; its not the same. Zhaozhou said to someone, Have you had break fast yet? He said, Yes. Zhaozhou said, Go wash the dishes. This is different. Do you suppose I am an ordinary man? You tell me where the difference is.
Self Knowledge,
get to know the self, but seekers who hear this equate it with what beginners see, and think there is noth ing hard to understand about it. You should take it more slowly for a while, and be more careful. What do you call the self? How about the sayings of ancient worthies on the self? Roaming the mountains, enjoying the rivers you say, I understand who else is it? Another saying goes, It is your self you say, I understand this too; it is myself. But how about the reply, Mountains, rivers, the whole earth ? It is also said, When you eat, die meal is your self how do you under stand that? You still cant get to it. An ancient worthy said, The whole earth is your self so how can you clear your mind? Whenever I see that people have misunderstood, I quote ancient stories to question them. For example, Jingqing asked Xuansha, I have just entered the school; please point out a way in. Xuansha said, Do you hear the sound of the valley stream? Jingqing replied, Yes Xuansha said, Enter from here. Jingqing got the message from this. I ask you, when he heard, what did he hear? Everyone says he heard the sound of the water, but what use is such an interpretation? According to their view, the hearing clearly takes in everything at once, so there is no sound to be found apart from this hearing; everything being a mani festation from ones subjectivity, it is representation of active consciousness. Some answer that it was not the sound of water
t e l l p e o p le t o
Self Know ledge
he heard, but his self. To this I say, how can the self hear the self? This is what is called recognizing mind, recognizing nature. Buddhism is an easily understood, energy-saving teaching; people strain themselves. Seeing them helpless, the ancients told people to try meditating quietly for a moment. These are good words, but later people did not understand the meaning of the ancients; they went off and sat like lumps with knitted brows and closed eyes, suppressing body and mind, waiting for enlight enment. How stupid! How foolish!
Step Back and See

r
said, Is it the wind ringing, or is it the chimes ringing? He should have stopped right there, but he went on to vex others by saying, It is not the wind or the chimes ringing, but only your mind ringing. What further oppor tunity to study do you seek? When Zen came to China, an early teacher said, It is not the wind or the flag moving; it is your minds moving. The ancient teacher gave this testimony; why dont you understand? Just because of subject and object. That is why it is said, The objec tive is defined based on the subjective; since the objective is arbi trarily defined, it produces your arbitrary subjectivity, producing difference where there was neither sameness nor difference. People nowadays talk about certain discernment, but how do you discern with certainty? It is not a matter of declaring, This is an initiatory saying, this is a saying for beginners, that is a saying for old-timers. Its not like this at all. As a matter of fact, letting go all at once is precisely how to discern with cer tainty there will be no different focus at any time. You get up in the morning, dress, wash your face, and so on; you call these miscellaneous thoughts, but all that is necessary is that there be no perceiver or perceived when you perceive no hearer *6r heard when you hear, no thinker or thought when you think. Buddhism is very easy and very economical; it spares effort, but you yourself waste energy and make your own hardships.
n early teach er
70
If you do not see the ease, then sit for a while and examine the principle. Since you have come here to study Zen, dont come here with imagination and figuring like you find in other places; just step back and look, and you will surely understand. However, there are those who accept attunement and those who do not; there are the foolish and the wise, there are those who can be saved and those who cannot be saved. Those who do not accept attunement insist on using fluctu ating habit-ridden consciousness and energy from food. When questioned, they make their eyes bulge, walk back and forth, hold up their regalia, accepting and approving perceptions and emotions in the dimness of their skulls and bodies. This is irre mediable. Just let go, then step back and look; only then will you understand. There are senior students of a certain type who say, I do not reason, I make no calculations; I am not attached to sound and form, I do not rely on either the impure or the pure. The sage and the ordinary mortal, delusion and enlightenment, are all completely empty; there are no such things in the Great Light. They are shrouded by the light of knowledge, attached to an extreme of knowledge. This is also irremediable. Of these two illnesses, the former is slighter than the latter. If those who have illness are willing to set it aside, step back and look, they too will naturally understand. This task spares energy to the utmost. The way of the andents is very economical and most quintessential. Why do you waste energy? Sometimes I observe seekers come here Jkpgnding a lot of energy and going to great pains. What do they \tfant? TTiey seek a few sayings to pijt in a skin bag; what felevance is tfiSle? Nevertheless, there is a genuine expedient that is very good, though only experienced seekers will ê a^Je to focus doubt on it. It is like when Xuansha was going t ^ p M ifeipk the teach* ing one day, but didnt speak a single d,^n^featter how long
71
IN ST ANT ZEN
the assembly stood there. Finally they began to leave in twos and threes. Xuansha remarked, Look! Today I have really helped them, but not a single one gets it. If I start flapping my lips, though, they immediately crowd around! You come here seek ing expedient techniques, seeking doctrines,r seeking peace and happiness. I have no expedient techniques to give people, no doctrine, no method of peace and happiness. Why? If there is any expedient technique, it has the contrary effect of burying you and trapping you. Zhaozhou said, Just sit looking into the principle; if you do not understand in twenty or thirty years, cut off my head. This too was to get you to become singleminded. Have you not read how the Second Patriarch of Zen used to expound the teaching wherever he was, and everyone who heard him attained true mindfulness? He did not set up written for mulations and did not discuss practice and realization or cause and effect. , , At the time, a certain meditation teacher heard about the Zen patriarch and send a senior disciple to spy on hislectures. When the disciple didnt come back, the meditation teacher was enraged. When they met at a major convocation, the teacher personally said to his former disciple, I expended so much effort to plant you; how could you turn your back on me this way? The for mer disciple replied, My vision was originally right, but was distorted by teachers. This is what Zen Study is like. Later, someone asked Xuefeng, How is it when ones vision is originally correct but distorted by teachers? Xuefeng said, Con fused encounter with the founder of Zen. The seeker asked, Where is ones own vision? Xuefeng said, It is not gotten from a teacher. This is the way you have to be before you attain realization. Of old it was said, Enlightenment is always with people, but people subjectively pursue things. In scripture it says, If you can turn things around, they are the same as realization of such ness.
Oiu l\ li/lit .JCc
But how can things be turned around? It is also said, All appearances are unreal; if you see appearances are not inherent characteristics, the you see realization of suchness. Just step back, stop mental machinations, and look closely. When suddenly you see, nothing can stop you.
73
All the Way Through
@
o
d e l u s io n , n o e n l ig h t e n m e n t
only when you have
arrived at such a state are you comfortable and saving energy to the maximum degree. But this is simply being some one without delusion or enlightenment; what is there deluding you twenty-four hours a day? You must apply this to yourself and determine on your own. All realms of existence are there because of the deluded mind; right now, how could they not be there? Once you realize they are not there, they cannot delude your feelings and certainly can not do anything to you. It is necessary to attain the reality where there is no delusion and no enlightenment before you can become free and unfettered. People on the journey call this the reality under the vest; if this reality is not fully realized, it is a disaster. The patriarch Ashvaghosha explained three subtle and six coarse aspects of mentation; stir, and there is suffering. How to not stir? Uttering a few sayings does not amount to talking of mysteries and marvels, or explaining meanings and principles; ' sitting meditation and concentration do not amount to inner freedom. Think about it independently. Other people do not know what you are doing all the time; you reflect on your own are you in harmony with truth or not? Here you cannot be mistaken; investigate all the way through.
All the Way I brough
When my late teacher appeared in the world to teach, he said, I rise from this jewel flower throne and sit upon it every day along with all of you; it is just that you avoid what is right before you. This is a good saying. He also remarked, In over ten years at one place, I couldnt find a worthy opponent; only when I went elsewhere did I actually see such a person as would live up to my sense of indignation. Good words; few people can talk like this. I spent over thirty years journeying; you people were not even born when I found the way. If younger folk believe what I am talking about, you will step back each day, look into yourselves, and see all the way through.
Comprehending Everything
Zen s c h o o l is called the school of Kasyapas great absorp tion in quiescence. Without stirring a thread, all is under stood; without stirring a hair, all is realized. It is not just a matter of not stirring and letting it go at that. Do not rouse the mind or stir thoughts throughout the twentyfour hours of the day, and you should be able to comprehend everything. This is called being a member of Kasyapas school. Only then can you enter great absorption in quiescence. Now what is there that acts as a mental object and an obstruc tion? Although people can investigate, people can study, they cannot understand by arousing the mind and stirring thoughts. When you encounter a situation or hear a saying, if your thoughts stir, your mind gets excited, and you make up an interpretation, in any case you are in a scattered,state. When Elder Ming has accomplished not thinking good or bad, only then did he manage to see; thereupon he said, Al though I was in the school of the Fifth Patriarch of Zen, I really did not know what the Buddha meant by saying, Not this shore, not the further shore, not the current in between. Nanquan said, It is not Buddha, it is not a thing. This is precisely what you are focusing on now. Simply study in this way. Just as a scholar has the attitude of an official once hes passed the civil service examination, you must come to the realization
he
that you are Buddha; only then will you be free from doubt. Each of you must take responsibility for this yourself; dont pass the time pursuing the hubbub.
Seek Without Seeking
in each of you that you will only be able to perceive when you turn around. So how does one turn around? By nonseeking seeking, seeking without seeking. This is precisely what people find hard to deal with or get into. How can you seek if you are not seeking? How can you not seek if you are seeking? If you only seek, how is that different from pursuing sounds and chasing forms? If you do not seek at all, how are you different from inert matter? You must seek, and yet without seeking; not seek, yet still seek. If you can manage to penetrate this, you will then manage to harmonize seeking and nonseeking. So it is said, Nonseek ing nonseeking the body of reality is perfectly quiescent. Seek ing seeking responsive function does not miss. Seeking without seeking, nonseeking seeking objects and cognition merge, sub stance and function are one. Therefore you find the three bod ies, four knowledges, five eyes, and six spiritual powers all come to light from this. Students must be able to turn around and search all the way through in this way before they can attain realization. A seeker asked Yangshan, What special pathway do you have? Please point it out to me. Yangshan said, If I said there is anything in particular or nothing in particular, I would confuse you even more. Where are you from?
h e r e is s o m e t h i n g
78
. t
h i
m i
v >i 1 7 v i
The seeker said he was from such and such a place. Yangshan asked, Do you still think of that place? The seeker replied, I think of it all the time. Yangshan said, What you think of are the buildings, tow ers, and habitations, of which there are a variety. Now think back to what thinks is there a variety of things there? The seeker replied, There is no variety of things there. Yangshan said, Based on your perception, you have only attained one mystery. You have a seat and are wearing clothes; hereafter see for yourself. This seeker said that the object of thought is varied, while the thinker is not varied. This view is biased; this is what prompted Yangshan to say he had only attained one mystery his per ception of the path was not accurate. If you ask me, the object of thought, with a variety of build ings and houses, is in fact not various, while the unvaried think ing subject is in fact various. This can be demonstrated. Right now there is a variety before your eyes; there are not so many of these. There are, similarly, many types of the unvaried. When the seer Bhishmottaranirghosha took the seeker Sudhana by the hand, Sudhana saw Buddhas as numerous as atoms in infinite worlds. When the seer^let go of Sudhanas hand, every thing was as it had been before. Now how do you understand this reversion to normal on release of the hand? Youd better understand!
79
Original Reality
J
said, Every phenomenon is the original reality. Fine. Yunmen held up his cane and said, This is not the original reality. After a pause, he said, If so, then the three poisons, four perversions, five clusters, six senses, twelve media, eighteen elements, and twenty-five realms of being are not the original reality. Why not understand in this way youd save quite a bit of effort. Buddhism is a most economical affair, conserving the most energy it has always been present, but you do not understand. I tell you, moreover, that there is nothing that is true and nothing that is not true. How can there be truth and untruth in one thing? Just because of seeking unceasingly, everywhere is seeking; pondering principles is seeking, contemplating the model cases of the ancients is also seeking, reading Zen books is also seeking; even if you sit quietly, continuously from moment to moment, this too is seeking. Do you want to understand? Then that seeking of yours is actually not seeking. This is extremely difficult to believe and to penetrate, hard to work on. Those of you who are not com fortable are that way, generally speaking, because you are either obliviotls or excited. That is why you say you do not understand. Right now, how can you avoid being oblivious or excited? When that very thought of yours arises, it is the flowing whirl
n a n c ie n t sa g e
O riginal Reality
of birth and death: do you consider it habit-activated conscious ness, or do you consider it immutable? Contemplate in this way over and over again, and you will have a bit of guiding princi ple.
8 t
Same Reality, Different Dreams &

on the same bed, under the same covers, yet their individual dreams are not the same. An ancient sage said, We share the same one reality, yet do not realize it. For example, within the single reality of life and death, there are those who can enter into life and death without being bound by life and death, and there are those who are bound by life and death in the midst of life and death. In the midst of the same common reality, one person is bound while another is freed; is this not the individual differences in the dreams? You usually make birth and death into one extreme, and absence of birth and death into another extreme; you make think ing into one extreme and nonthinking into another extreme; you make speech into one extreme and nonspeech into another extreme. Here I have neither the business of Zen monks, nor anything transcendental; I just talk about getting out of birth and^leath. This is not a matter of simply saying this and letting the matter rest at that; you must see that which has no birth or death right in the midst of birth and death. The great master Yongjia visited the Sixth Patriarch of Zen and said, The matter of birth and death is serious; transitori ness is^swift. The Sixth Patriarch said, Why not comprehend the birthless and realize what has no speed? Yongjia said, Com prehension itself is birthless; realization of the fundamental has no speed.
eo ple m a y sleep
82
Reality , Different Dreams
When Caoshan took leave of Dongshan, Dongshan asked, Where are you going? Caoshan replied, To an unchanging place. Dongshan retorted, If it is an unchanging place, how could there be any going? Caoshan replied, The going is also unchanging. Were these not realized people? You make thought one ex treme and nonthinking another extreme; you make the unspo ken outside of the spoken even if you understand the unspoken clearly, as soon as words are spoken they block you. Why not study Zen in this way walk, stand, sit, and recline all day long without ever walking, standing, sitting, or reclining. Sometimes seekers come here, utter a phrase, and clap their hands; how does this amount to an understanding beyond dualistic extremes? You should think in this way: Clearly I am in the midst of birth and death; how can I get free of birth and death? Dont say this itself is It, that you basically have no birth or death. It is not realized by your uttering this statement. There are those who hear someone say there is no birth and death, and immediately say, "Right! There is originally no birth or death! If you make your interpretation in this way, it will be impossible to understand. y Since it does not admit of rationalization and contrived under standing, and does not admit of being explained away, how can you work on it? An ancient said, I only use what you bring me to point out an entryway to you. Take care.
Watch Yourself
f
s I s e e members of present-day Zen communities, it is as if none of them are talking about this reality. Now wherever you go there are Zen communities and teachers preaching Zen and Tao, holding interviews and lectures, all talking about this matter why do I say they havent been talking about it at all? They are talking, to be sure, but they cannot actually speak of it. Not only can they not speak of it, they are unable to see it. Not knowing how to work on it as it is, they simply say, When the true imperative is brought up in its entirety, the ten direc tions are cut off: ^ny Buddha that shows up will get a beating, and any demon that shows up will get a beating. They fanati cally talk Zen, but never touch upon what is most urgent. What I talk of here is something that others neglect. I casu ally pick it up from a trash heap and ask people about it, but they cannot say anything. Right now, when people who have already entered the room, inquired into the way, and attained understanding see the incense stand, is it an incense stand or not? If they say it is an incense stand, this is the same as ordi nary people. If it is not an incense stand, to whom was the incense . stand given away? Lightly question them, and they go to pieces. This is because they have always been working in idleness. Nt>w let me ask you a question. Never mind about since youve been here; before you went journeying, before you entered this community, when you saw an incense stand, what did you
84
'Watch Yourself
call it? You called it an incense stand. Everyone calls it an incense stand; why do you not think why you call it an incense stand? Zen should be studied in this way; you must understand what has been in you since beginningless time. Master Siushan said, If you dont see the original reality, obstacles will follow you all along; if people have obstacles, they go wrong countless thou sands of times. My teacher said, Suppose a bit of filth is stuck on the tip of the nose of a sleeping man, totally unknown to him. When he wakes up, he notices a foul smell; sniffing his shirt, he thinks his shirt stinks, and so he takes it off. But then whatever he picks up stinks; he doesnt realize the odor is on his nose. If someone who knows tells him it has nothing to do with the things them selves, he stubbornly refuses to believe it. The knowing one tells him to simply wipe his nose with his hand, but he wont. Were he willing to wipe his nose, only then could he know he was already getting somewhere; finally he would wash it off with water, and there would be no foul odqr at all. Whatever he smelled, that foul odor wouldnt be there from the start. Study ing Zen is also like this; those who will not stop and watch them selves on their own instead pursue intellectual interpretation, but that pursuit of intellectual interpretation, seeking rationales and making comparative judgments* is all completely off. If you would turn your attention around and watch yourself, you would understand everything. As it is said, When one faculty returns to the source, the six functions are all in abeyance. Just see in 1 :hi wav, and you will have some enlightened understanding.
Understand Immediately
a, ha, h a!
Y ou still dont understand on your ow n. I tell
you this if you still dont understand on your ow n, then
how will you understand if you go somewhere else?
At other places, they either put you through changes, or ab ruptly fixate you. Here, I neither put you through changes nor abruptly fixate you. This saves energy and is easy to compre hend; so why dont you understand? Because of your millions of rationalizations; these make it hard for you to understand. Buddhahood is an easily comprehended state, comfortable and pleasant. But even though it is easily understood, neverthe less it is hard to enter into and hard to work on. At other places, if they abruptly fixate you, then you have something to work on; if they put you through changes, then you have something to chew on. People come here and declare that they do not dare to say they are right. So why dont you dare say you are right? Then how should you be? Why not look at it in this way? Im just afraid you will misunderstand here and get the wrong idea. I just want to have you understand immediately, without stirring a single thought. Then again, there are those who say, According to my view, everything is all right. They are like scorched sprouts, like rot ten seed, which will never grow. When you have declared youre
U iiila > u n d h w n cd u itcly
right, then how can you be helped out any more? This is why it is said that ordinary people may still evolve. There are also those who, having understood, still cannot express it in speech. Even if they talk of it, they do not make any sense. Dont be careless and crude; examine carefully. I am a fellow seeker with you; if I comprehend, you must comprehend too. If you dont comprehend, I dont comprehend either. Have you not read how Xuansha pointed to a white spot on the ground in front of him and asked a student, See? The stu dent said, Yes. Xuansha said, I see, and so do you. Why dont you understand? One of my fellow students, one Elder Li, saw my late teacher for a year and a half; every time he went in for a personal inter view, the teacher would just say to him, Elder, have you dis tinguished black and white at all? Every time he went, this is what happened. How do you interpret talk like this? How do you work? v Nowadays there are no adepts like this helping people. There are no elders who seek like this either. Anyone else would have gotten upset. One day he heard the teacher say in a lecture, Going in and out the same door hereditary enemies, and suddenly his previous understanding turned out to be like flow ers in the sky, and he now saw the truth. You should work in this way .and realize enlightenment in this way. Zen should be studied this way. As none of you have fiad%i awakening, you should look straight into your vital spirit. If no ofte told you and no one instructed you, it would be hard to work. Now that you have met someone, you should work. You must distinguish black and white before you can do it.
V
Instant Enlightenment
now on the journey should believe that there is such a thing as instant enlightenment. In other places they also should say that there is such a thing as instant enlighten ment; if they have no instant enlightenment, how can they be called Zen communities? Its just because what they have inherited and transmit is only the practice of looking at the model cases of the ancients. They may contemplate one or two examples and get a rough bit of knowledge, a bit of interpretation. If there is any point they can not understand, they seek a gap to bore into, seeking under standing. Once they have understood, they say the matter is only like this, and then they immediately go on to circulate it in the Zen communities. None of them have ever spoken of what instant enlightenment is. If there is no such such thing as instant enlight enment, how can you free your mind of the twenty-five states of being in the three realms? How can you free your mind of the sensation of uncertainty? Now there have already been professional priests coming here saying, Perception is unobscured, totally accepting perception and cjaiming that is right. That means they do not see what is not obscured. When I ask them about other worlds, they do not know; and when I question them about the senses and objects, it turns out they have not broken through. How can they imag
h o se w h o a r e
/ n s U in t 1- J i l i g b t e n n i e u t
ine that the feelings and perceptions of ordinary people are exactly the same as instant enlightenment? Today I say to everyone, just trust that there is such a thing as instant enlightenment. It is like a farmer finding an alchemi cal pill as he plows the fields; after taking it, the whole family goes to heaven. It is also like a commoner being appointed prime minister. In the Teachings it says that those ordinary feelings and per ceptions of yours are like unbaked clay, which is useless before it has been fired. You have to bake it in a hot fire before it is use ful; that is like an instant enlightenment. When I came out of Szechwan, I only called on one person. I know this persons talk was the same as the ancients. I once asked my teacher, Ive heard it said that there is enlightenment in Zen; is that so? My teacher said, If there were no enlightenment, how could it be attained? Just investigate in an easygoing way. So I studied in a relaxed frame of mind. There was a certain Elder Fu, whose insight was so luminously clear thkt I used to go to him with questions. But he just used to tell me, You must make a living on your own; dont come questioning me. One day he recited a story to me: Zhaozhou showed some fire to a student and said, Dont call it fire. What is it? I won dered deeply at this: obviously it is fire why not call it fire? I contemplated this for three years, always reflecting, How dare I use the feelings and perceptions of an ordinary man to ask about the realization of sages? i have also heard what it says in the Lotus Scripture, This truth cannot be understood by the discriminations of discursive thought, l& d have always kept this in mind. Today when you say you are right just as you are, that is because you have pro duced an interpretative understanding, grid so do not understand. Once my teacher went to the residîcra$Judge Li, who invited him into the library. After lightingfeortie lri^fise, the judge picked
89
IN M A M
/.IN
up a copy of Transmission o f the Lamp and said to the teacher, Although I am a man of the world, I have always taken an inter est in this path. Whenever I read this book I find many points I do not understand. My teacher said, This matter is not under stood in that way. You need to have realization of enlightenment first. If you have enlightenment, you naturally need not ask oth ers about whatever you do not understand. If you have no enlight enment, even what understanding you do have is not yet right either. The judge remarked, My teacher, you have spoken rightly. As for me, since I was the superintendent of guests, I attained understanding at the fireside; after that, there was nothing I did not understand. You must see the reality of instant enlighten ment yourself before you can attain it. No one in the Zen com munes of the present time tells of it.
90
Zen Mastery
in my experience that is not true. If there were anything at all untrue, how could I presume to tell oth ers, how could I presume to guide others? When I affirm my truth, there is no affirming mind and no affirmed objects; that is why I dare tell people. As for you, obviously there is something not true; that is why you come to someone to find certainty, you had found truth already, then when would you go off questioning another? However, here I just point out where youre right. If youre not right, Ill never tell you that you are. When you are right and true, then Ill agree with you. Only bet on whats right and true. I see through everyone. If Ive seen people, I know whether or not they have any enlightenment or any understanding, just as an expert physician recognizes ailments at a glance, discern ing the nature of the illness and whether or not it can be reme died. Once who knows all this only after a detailed inquiry into symptoms is a mediocre physician. Thfs is like a story I have quoted on another occasion. Fayan pointed to a hanging screen, whereupon two students went and rolled it up. Fayan said, One gain, one loss. People like you, in your state, must not say, What gain orôss is there? Some say, One went to roll up the screen witjrûpiejrstanding this is gain. One went to roll up the scruff 'without understanding this is loss. If this were so, how could a remedy be possible?
h e r e is n o t h i n g
IN ST ANT Z E N
Now if you have not managed to understand clearly, it is because your enlightenment is not true; like someone ignorant of medicine claiming to be a doctor, you cannot discern when people understand, and you cannot tell whep they do not under stand you cannot discern at all whether or not they have any insight. Then how can you help people? How can you teach peo ple? You must examine reality through and through before you can. If you are willing to examine reality through and through, you will not fail to understand. Have you not read how an ancient said, Just sit there investigating the truth for twenty or thirty yearsj if you do not attain understanding, cut off my head and make a piss pail out of it. Seekers sometimes say this is right, but when it comes to investigating reality through and through, they change unstably. It is like watching a horse ridden past a window; in a flash its gone. One must be like thirty tons of iron, which cannot be pulled forward or pushed back only then do you know its the real thing. People like you stir the minute youre shaken by some one; one more push, and you tumble. You should be so perfectly clear that you see your three hun dred and sixty joints and eighty-four thousand pores open up all at once; inside your body and outside in the physical world, every phenomenon is the original reality nothing is not It. Only then will you get it. But professional priests nowadays can only speak after dawdling; if I proceed all at once, they have nothing to cling to and think they have wasted their time. You people had better not waste this time! Since you are already involved, stabilize and awaken your vtfal spirit in the effort to find out the truth.
Equality
about equality, nothing surpasses Buddhism. Bud dhism alone is most egalitarian. If one says, I understand, you do not, this is not Buddhism. If one says, You understand, I do not, This is not Buddhism either. In the Teachings it says, This truth is universally equal, without high or low this is called unexcelled enlightenment. M y perception is equal to yours, and your perception is equal to mine. And yet, an ancient also said, I know everything others know, but others do not know what I know. Why dont they^know? Because they harbor high and low in their minds, and do not rely on enlightened insight; thus they see this World full of all kinds of crap. What the Sage taught is an egalitarian teaching; he said, I get all types of beings to enter nirvana without remainder where by I liberate them. I have liberated countless sentient beings in thisfyya^, yet there are really no beings who attain liberation. Is this tiotan egalitarian teaching? , .$ An anci&k said, Nirvana is called universal liberation; it takes all in uniformly, without remainder; no matterwhat type of being,.entity.or e x te n t, s it ik in g y iy i^ being can descend to hve on earth?; 15 inherendy omnipresent. If su< one lingers forever on this s h ffe * If over, that is this shore, the mundane*
f yo u talk
I N S I AN i z l : n
instant one flows into ideation, which constitutes the root of birth and death. How can you have random realizations and arbitrarily produce intellectual interpretations? In ancient times, there was an adept who told people, Each of you has your inspiration; when you first determined to go journeying, you must have made this determination on account of life and death. Some may have aroused the determination to avoid misery, or because of the pressure of circumstances; in any case it is called inspiration. Why? To get people to look at their initial inspiration. That is, if your original thought of inspira tion has not changed, turning back to it is most powerful. This is the Zen for you to study; if you actually attain it, it is simply clear purity of mind. When you seek out teachers along the way and contemplate day and night, you are simply nur turing this mind. Then when you have awakened and realized it, you will then see that it had not been lost even before you were inspired. The saint Ashvaghosha said of this, Initial en lightenment is itself fundamental enlightenment; fundamental enlightenment itself is unconscious. The nonduality of the initial experience and the fundamental reality is called ultimate enlighten ment. It is also said, At the time of initial inspiration one attains true enlightenment, meaning first realize the fruit, and the six perfections and myriad deeds of Buddhas are a matter of ripen ing. This is why I have you just investigate the initially inspired mind. And my perception is one with yours; why not understand in this way?
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Clear Eyes
@
eyes do not settle complacently into fixed ways. The reason you havent attained this in everyday life is simply that your eyes are not clear. If your eyes were clear, youd have attained it. That is why it is said that people with clear eyes are hard to find. As soon as you say This is thus and so, that is a complacent fixation; people with clear eyes are not like this. Have you not read how Deshan said, to an assembly, Tonight I will not answer questions. Anyone who asks a question gets a thrashing. How could anyone without clear eyes comprehend this? Fail in the slightest to comprehend this, and you fall into conceptual thought, which constructs signals. That is why Deshans normal experience of life was comprehended by only one person, Yantou. Therefore I say you have to have clear eyes before you can attain this.
e o p le w it h c l e a r
Finding Certainty
masters are real true friends. Ha, ha, ha! One can only say this much; if you understand, you can have the experience yourself. Then you will have something to act on. If you get involved in rationalizations, comparisons, and verbalizations, then you do not understand, and you cannot experience it yourself. When you are going about and doing your chores, do you see that the original Zen masters are real true friends? Since you dont see, when asked about it you get flustered. Where is the problem? The problem lies in the fact that you are always coming from the midst of conceptual comparisons, and do not personally attain experience. All of you go sit on benches, close your eyes, and demolish your thinking all the way from the Milky Way above to Hades below before you can make a statement or two. But when you get to a quiet place, you still dont get the ultimate point. Before your eyes is nothing but things that obstruct people. Lightly questioned, you cannot reach the aim. Right now, lets base the discussion on realities; we mustnt talk at random. For the moment, let me ask you this: when you havent eaten anything at all for three days, can you be active? Certainly you cannot be active. Only after eating something can you be active. If so, it is all food energy. But when you get here, if you want to find suitable people, first it is necessary to see that
he o r ig in a l Z en
binding Certainty
which is not food energy. Zen should be studied in this way; this alone is called finding certainty. Once you have eaten, that should sustain you as you take this matter up and look into it. But you are totally ignorant of this matter; instead you try to apply it in idleness, discussing right and wrong, focusing on useless things, either thinking about them or trying to demolish them. What a pity! Its all misappli cation. You do not realize that as soon as you aim your mind youre already a generation too late! In an instant, you have flowed into ideation, which forms the root of birth and death. Furthermore, if you dont know even while physically alive, where will you seek after your material body dissolves? In recent days there are those who just sit there as they are. At first they are alert, but after a while they doze. Nine out of ten sit there snoozing. How miserable! If you do not know how to do the inner work, how can you expect to understand by sit ting rigidly? This is not the way it is. How can you see? When Danxia held up a whisk, Layman Pang held up a ham mer. When Danxia tossed his whisk down, Layman Pang put his hammer down. The next day, Layman Pang said, How do you interpret yesterdays case? Danxia relaxed and reclined. Layman Pang left. Are these not real knowers? How could this admit of your arbitrary explanations, or permit you to add ex planatory footnotes? Also, Yantou said, These who cultivate purification must let it coSie^prth from their own hearts in each individual situation, covering the^gijtire universe. How can this be quiet sitting and "meditating? My teacher said, When you sleep, study Zen as you sleep; at meals, study Zen as you eat Aivancwit also said, When you sit, there is the logic of when you s^ I m ^ ^ ^ ou stand, there is the logic of when you stand. ' Have you not read how Touzi asked CuiwHL Can I hear the
INSTANT Z EN
secret message of Zen? Cuiwei stood and looked around. Touzi said, I dont understand the hidden statement; please give me another indication. Cuiwei said, You want to get soused with a second ladle of foul water? Touzi was thereupon enlightened. You people have not attained the experience, so you miss quite a few good things in the course of a day. That is why I say the original Zen masters are real true friends. The path of the original Zen masters is like the bright sun in the blue sky why are there people losing the way?
Get an Understanding
understand, where is your mistake? You do not understand at all; fundamentally not under standing, you then seek understanding. An ancient said, Dont abandon this world and cling to the beyond; for if you do so, it will be even harder to understand. I told you that you funda mentally do not understand; why not look at it as when Fayan was journeying and Dizang asked him where he was going; when Fayan replied that he was journeying, Dizang asked, And do you understand what the journey is for? Fayan answered, No. Dizang said, If you want to know what the journey is for, the one who does not understand is it. Fayan realized enlighten ment from this. I ask you, since he did not understand, then how did he attain? You must find a way to penetrate before you will know. This is not a matter of forced understanding, gr all sorts of contrived understanding. Since you basically do not understand, what are yfcfci capable of doing? You need to examine attentively; Iqpk to see wheije the not understanding comes from. Do you want to know? This nonunderstanding of yours basi cally comes from nowhere. Since it comes from nowhere, how could this not understanding be? And w h m w u understand, the nonunderstanding goes nowhere. W h^.yboJ0^k at it in this way, you may be sure of attaining clarification^ As long as you do not know how to be pe6$e in the midst
hen yo u c a n n o t
INST ANT ZE N
of enlightening realities, you only exercise your minds in the mundane world. If you have never taken a moment to look into this matter, how could you actually understand right away? When someone asks you a question, you talk randomly; but this is not a matter that can be handled in this way. In the old days I once heard an old mendicant relate that Mas ter Xianglin saw a seeker coming and said, I do not deny that you can talk about it, but by the time youve gone two or three steps down the stairs, youre already no longer thus. Better not talk wildly! See how the ancients examined from the root how people are to go about things. In Buddhism, no waste is rea sonable; get aft understanding of it!
Principle and Phenomena
said, If you really have not yet attained, for now follow principle to gain discernment. Students of Zen should also proceed in accord with princi ple, not being so presumptuous as to hope for something tran scendental. In general, students nowadays make phenomena into one extreme and principle into another extreme. This causes them to be physically and mentally uneasy. Why not have phenom ena always conform to principle? Without even talking about the phenomena of beginningless time, just consider the instant of conception, when there is a sud den change of the physical body and the material world; from that point on, all is phenomena. Every diverse element in the conditional body is a phenomenon. Right now, how can you clear your mind of these phenomena so as to conform to principle? Phenomena have discrete forms, while principle is formless. tDifcg the ancients realized the principle, they adapted to phenomerta in accord with principle. Have you not read how some one once capped his hands and laughed on hearing a signal sounded, saying, I understand! I understand! Is this not fol lowing principle to learn? Why not observe in this way twentyfour hours a day, doing inner work Ijkep is? Eventually it will ripen, and you will naturally ham^flize winp, the principle. One of the original Zen masters said, fgyou want to attain
ra n d M a s te r Yunm en
I NS I AN I ZHN
harmonization quickly, just speak of nonduality. It is not a mat ter of just saying it and thereupon understanding; you must actu ally attain harmonization before you can realize this. Guishan said, Phenomena and principle are not two; the real Buddha is suchness as is. ' I have seen many who cannot follow principle; when they take it up, they turn it upside down at once. They make useless theoretical interpretations of the sayings and model cases of the ancients, their different challenges, records of seasonal addresses, and the modalities of their individual schools, considering this to be Zen study. How miserable! Study of the path is not like this. People of the later generations are even more ignorant; spend ing ten or fifteen years on vain conceit, they attain nothing at all. You have unconsciously acquired habits of thinking about yourself and others, and hardly even give a thought to the mat ter of independence. How will you be in the future? Dont keep standing here each of you find out on your own.
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Keys o f Zen Mind
set up limitations in the boundless void, but if you set up limitlessness as the boundless void, you encompass your own downfall. Therefore, those who under stand voidness have no concept of voidness. If people use words to describe mind, they never apprehend mind; if people do not describe mind in words, they still do not apprehend mind. Speech is fundamentally mind; you do not apprehend it because of describing it. Speechlessness is funda mentally mind; you do not apprehend it because of not describ ing it. Whatever sorts of understanding you use to approximate it, none tally with your own mind itself. A high master said, It is only tacit harmony. Because it is like this, if you havent attained the path yet, just do not enter tain any false thoughts. If people recognize false thoughts and deliberately try to stop them, its because you see there are false thoughts. If you know youre having false thoughts and delib erately practice contemplation to effect perception of truth, this is also seeing that there are false thoughts. If you know that false h ood is fundamentally the path, then there is no falsehood in it. Therefore those who master the path have no attainment. If the path were sought by deliberate intentvta, the path would be something attained. Just do not seek e l^ ^ ra e ^ jn d realize there is no confusion or falsehood; this is^jêi&cgpig the path. In recent times, everyone says, Nothittg|^s not the path.
o u s h o u ld n o t
INSTANT ZEN
They are like people sitting by a food basket talking about eat ing; they can never be filled, because they do not themselves par take. Realization obliterates the subject-object split; its not that theres some mysterious principle besides. In your daily activities, when you see forms, this is an instance of realization; when you hear sounds, this is an instance of realization; when you eat and drink, this is an instance of realization. Each particular is without subject or object. This is not a matter of longtime practice; it does not depend on cultivation. That is because it is something that is already there. Worldly people, who do not recognize it, call it roaming aimlessly. That is why it is said, Only by experiential realiza tion do you know it is unfathomable. People who study the path clearly know there is such a thing; why do they fail to get the message, and go on doubting? It is because their faith is not complete enough and their doubt is not deep enough. Only with depth and completeness, be it faith or doubt, is it really Zen; if you are incapable of introspection like this, you will eventually get lost in confusion and lose the thread, wearing out and stumbling halfway along the road. But if you can look into yourself, there is no one else. Once we say this matter, how can we know it any more than that? Knowledge may be arbitrary thought, but this mat ter itself isnt lost. The path is not revealed only after explana tion and direction; it is inherently always out in the open. Explanation and direction are expedient methods, used to get you to realize enlightenment; they are also temporary byroads. Some attain realization through explanation, some enter through direction, some attain by spontaneous awakening; ultimately thece is nothing different, no separate attainment. It is simply a matter of reaching the source of mind. People say that to practice cultivation only after realizing enlightenment is in the province of curative methodology, but Zen also admits of using true knowledge and vision as a cura-
Keys of Z en M ind
tive. In terms of a particular individual, however, this may not be necessary. The path of Buddhahood is eternal; only after long endurance of hard work can it then be realized. It is continuous through out past, present, and future; the ordinary and the holy are one suchness this is why it is said that the path of Buddhahood is eternal. If you do not produce differing views, you never leave it this is the point of long endurance of hard work. Ulti mately there is no separate reality thus it is said that it can then be realized. This is a matter for strong people. People who do not discern what is being asked give replies depending on what comes up. They do not know it is something you ask yourself to whom would you answer? When people do not understand an answer, they produce views based on words. They do not know it is something you answer for yourself what truth have you found, and where does it lead? Therefore it is said, Its all you. Look! Look! Some people say, The verbal teachings given out by the enlightened ones since ancient times circulate throughout the world, each distinctly clear. Why is all this oneself? That is pro found ingratitude toward the kindness of the ancient sages. I now reply that I am actually following the source message of the enlightened ones; you yourselves turn your backs on it, not I. If you say they have some doctrine, you are thereby slandering the enlightened. ftojiQt be someone who finally cuts off the seed of enlight enment!; i f youdo not discern the ultimate within yourself, what0 ever you d o w ll be artificial. No matter how much you memorize, or how many words you understand, it will be of no benefit to you. Thus it is said, You want to li^tei&jttentively to Buddha; why doesnt Buddha listen to h im self^ ff^ P y^ k a formal Bud dha outside the listening, it will no| resem ^ Sou . An adept said, For me to make a statefignt in reply to you
TOC
IN ST ANT ZEN
is not particularly hard; now if you could gain understanding at a single saying, that would amount to something. If you do not understand, then I have gone wrong. Students nowadays all consider question and answer to be essential to Zen, not realizing that this is a grasping and reject ing conceptual attitude. Terms such as study in reference to principle and in reference to phenomena are recently coined expressions. Even if you have a little perception, you still shouldnt stop; havent jou heard it said that the path of nirvana aims at abs#ute liberation? You have to be able to monitor yourself. When people pro ceed on the path because they are confused and do not know their own minds, they come to mountain forests to see teachers, imagining that there is a special w ay that can make people comfortable, not realizing that the best exercise is to look back and study your previous confusion. If you do not get this far, even to go into the mountain forests forever will be a useless act. Confusion is extremely accessible, yet hard to penetrate. That is why ancient worthies said, It is hard to believe, hard to under stand. This is an explanation of the path characteristic of the instant school. Looking back into what has been going on is already an expression of change; but what about if you do not do so! Later generations eventually took this statement to refer to plain ordi nariness, but this is just failure of understanding and absorption on the part of later students. Since time immemorial, there have been two kinds of method: there is true method, which is what is called the exposition that has no interruption; then there is expedient method, which is what is referred to as subtle response to all potentials. If you gain eritry by way of true method, you understand spiritually in a natural and spontaneous manner without needing to make use of contemplation, never to regress, with countless wondrous capacities. If you gain entry by way of expedient method, you
Keys of Z en M ind
must take the seat, wear the clothing, and hereafter see for your self before you can attain. This can not yet be considered ulti mate. These two kinds of method are one reality, and cannot be lost for an instant; students should think about this. Xuefeng said to people, Dont have me make a statement that refers to you; if there is a statement that refers to you, what use is it? It is simply that the ancient had no choice and could not avoid speaking in these terms; later people who did not understand the ancients intention thought it means that there is nothing to say about ones self; thus they misunderstood. People nowadays mostly take the immediate mirroring aware ness to be the ultimate principle. This is why Xuansha said to people, Tell me, does it still exist in remote uninhabited places deep in the mountains? Enlightenment of mind and seeing its essence should be like Xuefeng and Xuansha; genuine application to reality should be like Nanquan and Zhaozhou. Students nowadays just take the methods of the ancients to be the way of Zen; they are unable to study from the same source as the ancients themselves did. It is like a strong man carrying a heavy load over a log bridge without losing his balance. What supports him like this? Just his singleminded attention. Working on the path is also like this; as it says in scripture, a lion has all of its power whether it is catching an elephant or a rabbit. If you ask what power we should have all of, it is the power of nondeception. If you see anything in the slightest different from mind, you forfeit your own ftfe^Thus for those who attain the path, there is nothing that is not it; This power Is very great; it is only that the function of the power is made deficient by infections of unlimited misapperception. Without all these different st^tesMifferent conditions, different entanglements, and different j ^ ^ J m ^ o u can trans form freely, however you wish, withdtfFany ofetacle. You shouldnt strain to seek the path; if ycmmek it, vou will
x
INSTA
I ZEN
lose the path. You need not strain to make things fluid; if you try to make them fluid, things remain as they are. If you neither seek nor try to produce fluidity, the path will merge with things; then what thing is not the path? Suppose a man with clear eyes goes into a jewel mine but does not know how to go about it; in other words, suppose he thinks he can go in without a torch to light the way. Then when he bumps his head and hurts himself, he thinks it to be a dan gerous cave, not a jewel mine. An intelligent person going in there would take a lamp to light up the mine to view; then all kinds of jewels could be selected at will and taken out. Similarly, you should be using the light of insight and wisdom twenty-four hours a day, not letting the six fields of sense objects hurt you. In the old days, Assembly Leader Yong took leave of Fenyang along with Ciming, but Yong had not yet completely realized the marvel; though he had followed Ciming for twenty years, after all he was not free and untrammeled. One night they sat around the brazier until very late; Ciming picked up the fire tongs, hit the embers, and said, Assembly Leader Yong, Assem bly Leader Yong! Yong clucked his tongue and said with dis approval, Foxy devil! Ciming pointed at Yong and said, This tired old guy still goes on like this! In this way Yong finally realized the ultimate end. Nevertheless, he continued to follow Ciming to the end of his life. Whenever Ciming would pose com plex stimulating questions that the students could not answer, Yong alone hit the mark, and Ciming would nod approval. This is called medicine without disease. Few of those who study it attain the essential; needless to say, mere intellectuals of later times have no way to comprehend this matter. Your attain ment of it should be like Yong, your activation of the medicine should-be like Ciming; then, hopefully, you will be all right. When you find peace and quiet in the midst of busyness and clamor, then towns and cities become mountain forests; afflic tions are enlightenment, sentient beings realize true awakening.
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These sayings can be uttered and understood by all beginners, who construe it as uniform equanimity; but then when they let their minds go, the ordinary and the spiritual are divided as before, quietude and activity operate separately. So obviously this was only an intellectual understanding. You have to actually experience stable peacefulness before you attain oneness; you cannot force understanding. In recent generations, many have come to regard questionand-answer dialogues as the style of the Zen school. They do not understand what the ancients were all about; they only pur sue trivia, and do not come back to the essential. How strange! How strange! People in olden times asked questions on account of confu sion, so they were seeking actual realization through their ques tioning; when they got a single saying or half a phrase, they would take it seriously and examine it until they penetrated it. They were not like people nowadays who pose questions at ran dom and answer with whatever comes out of their mouths, mak ing laughingstocks of themselves. People who attain study the path twenty-four hours a day, never abandoning it for a moment. Even if these people do not gain access to it, every moment of thought is already cultivating practical application. Usually it is said that cultivated practice does not go beyond purification of mind, speech, action, and the six senses, but the Zen way is not necessarily like this. Why? Because Zen concentration is equal to transcendent insight in eyer^ moment of thought; wherever you are, there are naturally no ills. *ftv<jntually one day the ground of mind becomes thor oughly clear^fld you attain complete fulfillment. This is called absorption in one practice. Nowadays people only work on concentration power and do not open the eye of insight. For them, slides and sayings just become argumentation, unstable Zen study is not a small matter, rbu do nmTvet need to tran
109
scend the Buddhas and surpass the adepts; but once you have attained it, it will not be hard to transcend and surpass them if you wish.
no
Sitting Meditation
The light of mind is reflected in emptiness; its substance is void of relative or absolute. Golden waves all around, Zen is constant, in action or stillness. Thoughts arise, thoughts disappear; dont try to shut them off. Let them flow spontaneously what has ever arisen and vanished? When arising and vanishing quiet down, there appears the great Zen master; sitting, reclining, walking around, theres never an interruption. When meditating, why not sit? When sitting, why not meditate? Only when you have understood this way is it called sitting meditation. Who is it that sits? What is meditation? try to seat it is uSfig Buddha to look for Buddha. Buddha need not be sought; , seeking takes you further awgjEl^ , In sitting, you do not lo o k ^ ^ ^ g M meditation is not an At first, the mind is noisy 4nd u S l S
I . s .'v I . .
, s
there is still no choice but to shift it back. That is why there are many methods to teach it quiet observation. When you sit up and gather your spirit, at first it scatters helter-skelter; over a period of time, eventually it calms down, opening and freeing the six senses. When the six senses rest a bit, discrimination occurs therein. As soon as discrimination occurs, it seems to produce arising and vanishing. The transformations of arising and vanishing come from manifestations of ones own mind. Put your own mind to use to look back once: once youve returned, no need to do it again; you wear a halo of light on your head. The spiritual flames leap and shine, unobstructed in any state of mind, all-inclusive, all-pervasive; birth and death forever cease. A single grain of restorative elixir turns gold into liquid; acquired pollution of body and mind have no way to get through. Confusion and enlightenment are temporarily explained; stop discussing opposition and accord. When I think carefully of olden days when I sat coolly seeking, though its nothing different, it was quite a mess. You can turn from ordinary mortal to sage in an instant, but no one believes. All over the earth is unclarity;
112
best be very careful. If it happens you do not know, then sit up straight and think; one day youll bump into it. This I humbly hope.
Notes
Zen Sicknesses
The three kinds of sickness of the spiritual body are descriptively termed leaving before arriving, attachment after arriving, and penetration with no reliable basis. The meanings can be deduced from these names. The two kinds of light of the spiritual body refer to the gross and subtle semblance of something actually being there. These semblances are called light not penetrating freely. This does not mean that free penetration results in total absence of appearances, but that appearances are not made into objects of gross or sub tle fixation. This can only be understood by experiencing it. The Heroic Progress Discourse is a Buddhist text commonly used by Chinese Zen practitioners for self-monitoring during the declining centuries of Zen Buddhism in China, from the Song dynasty onward. See Dream Conversations for a more accessi ble discussion of Zen sicknesses. Zhaozhou (pronounced Jow-joe) (778-897) and Nanquan (pronounced Nan-chwen) (747-834) were two of the very great est adepts of classical Zen. The vastness and clarity of Nanquans mind can be glimpsed in such sayings as these: The true prin ciple is-one suchness: unobtrusive practice of inner application, unknown to anyone, is called nonleaking knowledge. Nonleak ing, inconceivable, is equivalent to the immutability of space, not
IJ 5
the current of birth and death. The Way is the Highway, unim peded nirvana full of wondrous capacities. Only thus do you attain freedom in all activities. This is what is meant by the expres sion Acting without fixation in all activities,5and the expression absorption in universal activity, manifesting the physical body everywhere. Because nobody knows, ones operations are traceless and imperceptible; the truth is spontaneously effective, the subtle function intrinsically adequate. The universal Way has no form, Truth has no opposite; so they are not in the realm of per ception or cognition. There are neither coarse nor fine concep tions in it. Nanquan also defined Zen practice in this way: Right now, just understand the principle of suchness, being-as-is, and act on it directly. Why not ask how to act on it? Just understand the essence that has been thus for infinite eons does not fluctu ate or change this in itself is practical application. Like other classical masters, Nanquan denounced cultism: Nowadays there are too many Zen Masters ! Im looking for an innocent, but cant find one! I dont say there are none at all, only that they are rare. He also said, Just embody practical application in touch with reality; do not say I am a Zen Mas ter ! Asked about, practical application, he said, If you need to act, act; dont just follow behind another! To explain the nonconventional nature of the special Zen consciousness, Nan quan said, The basis of understanding does not come about from perception and cognition. Perception and cognition are conditioned, only existing in relation to objects. The spiritual wonder is impossible to conceive, not relative to anything. That is why it is said that wondrous capacities are spontaneously effectivdfend do not depend on other things. Zhadifrou, who attained enlightenment at a word from Nan quan, also spoke of a fundamental awareness underlying Zen consciousness: This essence existe^ efore the world existed; this essence will not dissolve when tllc^^^r|^ disintegrates. State ments like this, it must be realiJfctf,' are nffc philosophical argu
ii 6
Notes
ments, but exercises in attention. This is made clear in Zhaozhous manner of addressing the usage and inner meanings of symbolic language in Zen: A gold Buddha cannot get through a furnace, a wooden Buddha cannot get through a fire, a cjay Buddha can not get through water. The real Buddha sits within; enlighten ment, nirvana, suchness, and buddha-nature are all clothing sticking to the body. See also No Barrier, chapters i, 7 , 1 1 , 1 4 , 1 9 , 27, 30, 33, 34, and 37. Facing It Directly Yunmen (d. 949), was one of the latest and greatest masters of the classical era, known for exceptional brilliance. He said, Why do you traipse around with your luggage through a thousand towns, over ten thousand miles? What are you missing? You are fine; who has no lot? If you cant even manage to take respon sibility for yourself on your own, you shouldnt accept decep tion from others, or take peoples judgments. As soon as you see old monks open their mouths, you should shut them right up; and yet you act like flies on manure, struggling to feed off it, gathering in three and fives for discussion. He also said, Ordi nary phonies consume the piss and spit of other people, memo rizing a pile of junk, a load of rubbish, running off at the mouth wherever they go, bragging about how they can pose five or ten questions. Even if you pose questions and answers from morn ing to night until the end of time, would you ever see? Where is the empowerment? Yunmen was one of the first Zen masters known to have given overt instructions for contemplating Zen stories and sayings as an expedient method of cultivating Zen consciousness: The ancients hacfa lot of complications to help you, such as Xuefengs saying, The whole earth is you, Jiashans saying, Pick out the teacher in the hundred grasses; recognize the emperor in a bustling market place, and Luopus saying, As soon as a par-
IN STA NT Z EN
tide of dust arises, the entire earth is contained therein; the whole body of a lion is on the tip of a single hair. Take these up and think about them over and over again; eventually, over time, you will naturally find a way to penetrate. No one can substitute for you in this task; it rests with each individual, without exception. This is quite different from the highly artificial standardized and pressurized koan study as practiced in many present-day Japan ese and American Zen cults, most of which does not follow the teachings of the original Zen masters, but actually dates only from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Yunmen was out spoken about the futility of cultic attitudes of emotional enthu siasts; he said, You rush here pointlessly; what are you looking for? All I know how to do is eat, drink, piss, and shit; why do you make a special interpretation? You travel around to various places studying Zen, inquiring about the path, but let me ask you a question: what have you learned at all those places? Try to bring it out. He also insisted on common sense in Zen prac tice: when someone asked, What is the road beyond? Yun men replied, 9 x 9 = 81. Asked about Zen in these terms, How does one apply it on the road? Yunmen replied, 7 x 9 = 63. These are not silly nonsequiturs, like so much nonsense seen in cults; and they are not just numerological symbolic statements either. Nine times nine does equal eighty-one, in the daily world we face when we wake up in the morning; a variety of Zen that does not help you is obviously not too useful, and has to Retreat into the bosom of a cult, a tribe of supposedly likemiijd^d people who agree to agree. See The Blue C liff Record, chapter^^ 8 , 1 4 , 1 5 , 22, 27, and 34; and No Barrier, chapters 2 1, 39, and 48. Seeing and Doing The statements about learning feîtels^fiay require some clar ification. One of the main ideal is thdt ir^s better to learn pro fessional skills when young so that you mav have more freedom
Notes
for other interests later on. Another idea is that too much inter est in business can inhibit this freedom. Yet another is that after enlightenment things can often be mastered without having to be learned. People in the East often studied Zen o improve their skills in arts, crafts, writing, government, soldiering, and other businesses, even to the extent that secondary purposes crowded out the original essence of Zen. The Marrow of the Sages Changsha lived in the ninth century. A wandering teacher with no fixed abode and no fixed doctrine, Changsha was one of the greatest classical masters. He said, The entire universe is your own light; the entire universe is within your own light; there is no one in the whole universe that is not you. I always tell you that the realms of desire, form, and formless abstraction, the enlightened ones, the universe, and the totality of all beings, are the light of universal perfect wisdom. When the light has not yet shone forth, where can you turn to become intimately acquainted with it? Before the light shines forth, there is no news of Bud dhas or sentient beings; where do we get the mountains, rivers, and earth? See also No Barrier; chapter 4 6. The icon of wisdom is a statue of Manjushri, a personifica tion of wisdom, commonly used in Zen meditation halls as a reminder that there is no meditation without insight, in the word of Buddha himself as written in the ancient Dhammapada. For more on Manjushri, see N o Barrier, chapter 42, and The Flower Ornament Scripture, chapters 8, 9 ,10 , and 39.
r -
Not Knowing There are still Zen cultists who stick to their not knowing in the blind and ignorant manner described here; they even have their Western imitators.
I N S 1 AN 1 / . I N
Emancipation Dongshan (pronounced Doong-shan) (806-869) was one of the great classical masters, particularly noted for the didactic scheme known as the Five Ranks, which Dongshan and his distinguished student Caoshan used to analyze the structures of Zen sayings and stories to define and describe stages of practice and realization. Stop Opinions In Buddhist psychology, opinions are considered one of the major afflictions, psychological conditions or disturbances that inhibit the evolution of consciousness.'Because people become narrow minded and bigoted by fixation on their own ideas and opin ions, subjective views are considered afflictions. The Third Patriarch of Zen died in 609. The sayings quoted are from his Poem on Trust in the Heart, one of the earliest Zen classics. Because of the importance of this text in understanding the theory and practice of instant Zen enlightenment, I have included a complete translation in an appendix to this volume that begins on page 13 3 . Grand Master Yongjia (d. 712) was a master of the Tiantai school of Buddhism; he visited the illustrious Sixth Patriarch of Zen and was instantly recognized as an illuminate. Because of this, in Zen tradition Yongjia is also referred to as the Enlight ened Overnight Guest. He is here quoted from his Song on Real ization o f Enlightenment, another early Zen classic. * Difficult to Conquer is the fifth of the Ten Stages of Enlightermlent as expounded in The Flower Ornament Scripture (pages 695-ftri). Containing the prototypes of all Buddhist teachings and practices, the Ten Stages are called the Alphabet of Bud dhism. The fifth stage is one in wWjch perfection of meditation is cultivated in harmony with u S ^ ^ ^ ^ ld ly occupations, inte grating transmundane and ca^vention|r realities. Xuansha (pronounced Shwen-shaitf lived in the ninth cenT TO
Notes
tury. Originally a fisherman, he later became one of the greatest Zen masters of all time. According to tradition, he attained instant enlightenment spontaneously one day when he stubbed his toe as he started out on a journey. Xuansha placed great emphasis on independent investigation into the source of confusion and understanding. He said, The substance of phenomena is inher ently uncreated and inherently indestructible. Everything is just so, now and forever; so how is it possible to not understand? If you dont understand, its just you; if you do understand, its still just you. So what is the difference between understanding and not understanding? The substance of enlightenment may emerge or disappear, becoming passive or active freely, with countless ineffable functions. Even right here and now there are thousands of uncanny functions taking place, all just so; myriad transfor mations and developments are also just so. Why? Because they are inherently there, inherently complete, their essence and char acteristics always there; this is the Buddha of immutable knowl edge. This is why it is possible to not know and not understand, just as someone who is full of benevolence is not aware of it. Simply because that which is permanent and unchanging is there, you therefore say you dont recognize or sense it. You may know it and sense it, but dont try to quantify it! See The Blue C liff Record , chapters 22 and 88, and pages 595-596. Fayan (pronounced Fah-yen) (885-958) was one of the last grand masters of the classical era of Zen. His school consisted mostly of advanced students, and on the whole is generally notable for erudition in Buddhist psychology and philosophy as well as subtle enlightenment. Four of his many disciples were teachers c f kings in China and Korea. Something of the subtle simplicity of his manner of teaching can be seen from his lectures: ZhaozTiou said, Dont waste energy. This is a very good say ing; why not go on as ever? Things of the world have ways of access; how could Buddhism have none? It just seems that way if you dont go on as ever. Therefore all the Buddhas and all the
INSTANT ZE N
Zen Masters simply attain within going on as ever See also The Blue C liff Record, chapter 7, and No Barrier, chapter 26. The Director Guizong (pronounced Gway-dzoong) lived in the eighth century. He is sometimes referred to as one of the very greatest Zen mas ters of all time, but relatively little is known of his teaching. He said, The ancient worthies since time immemorial were not without knowledge and understanding; those lofty people were not the same as the common run. Now you cannot mature your selves and stand on your own, so you pass the time uselessly. Dont misapply your minds; no one can take your place, but theres nothing for you to worry about either. Dont seek from others. All along you have been depending on interpretations from others, so you get bogged down whatever you say, and your light does not penetrate freely simply because there is some thing in front of your eyes. Independence Vasubandhii and Asanga were Indian Buddhist writers who pro mulgated the Vijnanavada, or Explanation of Consciousness, one of the main streams of Buddhist thought, which Asanga is said to have learned from a teacher named Maitreya. In Chinese Zen, Vasubandhu was considered the twenty-first Indian Zen Patriarch. This means suchness, (Sanskrit tathata), also referred to as thusness, (bhutatathata) or being-as-is (yathab%mta\. See also Transmission o f Light, chapter 22, and Buddhist Ydgalwhifeeh outlines the theory and practice of Vijnanavada BuddhiStS, one o f the Indian antecedents o f Zen. Leam ingZen Lingyun and Xiangyan (proil^ g^ ||fe^ an g-yen) both studied Zen for a long time w ith o u rsd ^ K p W u a lly to attain instantaneous enlightenment through imexwStted impacts. Lingyun
Notes
woke up one day when he happened to see peach trees in blos som, while Xiangyan finally awoke one day on hearing the sound of bamboo being hit by some pebbles he swept off the pathway. If you just shout and clap, when will you ever be done? This passage refers to imitators who literally shout and clap in a pretended show of nonconceptual realization or tran scendental enlightenment. People like this still exist, and even have their imitators in the supposedly rational West These are among those who have mistaken Zen mindlessness for ordi nary witlessness. Seeing Through In the Far East, Kasyapa the Elder was traditionally considered the First Patriarch of Zen in India. See No Burner/chapter 6, and Transmission of Light, chapter 2. For more on Bodhidharma, the Founder of Zell in China, see No Barrier, chapter 46, and; 29. Real Zen Yunyan, Baizhang, Daowu, Xuefeng* Touzi, Dongshan, and Deshan were all classical Zen masters; many storiesabout them can be found in tb ^ Blue CMff Record* SecNo Bar^wr, chapter 13 for Deshan and Xuefeng, chapter 2 for Baizhang. The record of Xuefengs (822-908) sayings also prov^^ $o n i^ S|& e clear est indications of the theory and You must see your essence before you attain e n !^ te n n i^ t What is v T * it & L . Z ,.... seeing essence? It means seeing ya&r What is its form? When there is no concrete object all Buddhas attain it He afed^ used to Achieve fied mind are I the pure spiritual ) the innocent
I N S T A N T /-I N
source, the ultimate truth, and pure consciousness. The enlight ened ones of past, present, and future, and all of their discourses, are all in your fundamental nature, inherently complete. You do not need to seek, but you must save yourself; no one can do it for you. Yunfeng Yue, Huaitang, and Zen Master Nan were excep tional Zen masters of the early Song dynasty. See Z.en Lessons, pages 41-47Wonder The Hundred Phenomena as Only Representation is a classic treatise on the Buddhist Explanation of Consciousness, Vij nanavada, which deals with the relationship between mind and objects. Fushan and Baiyun Duan were among the greatest early Song dynasty masters. See Zen Lessons, pages 9 -17 and 18 -23 Just This Grand Master Ma, also known as Mazu or Ancestor Ma (709788) was one of the most brilliant of the early classical masters, said to have had from eighty-four to 139 enlightened disciples. He said, The Way does not need cultivation; just dont pollute it. What is pollution? As long as you have a fluctuating mind creating artificialities and pursuing inclinations, all is pollution. If you want to understand the Way directly, the normal mind is the Way. What is the normal mind? It has no artificial contrivance, *nq*right or wrong, no grasping or rejection, no nihilism or eternalisfij no ordinariness and no sanctity. See also No Barrier, o chapter 3 <*T
Keep Evolving Linji (d. 866) was one of the greate^^^sical masters, famed for his blasting directness. He sal^^N^ni^T teach people just requires you not to take on the co n fu sio n others. Act when
124
Notes
necessary, without further hesitation or doubt. When students today do not attain this, wherein lies their sickness? The sick ness is in not trusting yourself. If your inner trust is insufficient, then you will frantically go along with changes in situations, and will be influenced and affected by myriad objects, unable to be independent. If you can stop the mentality of constant frantic seeking, then you are no different from Zen masters and Bud dhas. See also Zen Essence, pages 4-9. Elder Ding was one of Linjis spiritual heirs; his story is told in The Blue C liff Record, chapter 32. Approval Magu, Zhangjing, and Nanquan were all students of Great Mas ter Ma. See The Blue C liff Record, chapter 3 1, for further com ments on this story. Step Back and See The Second Patriarch of Zen was a monk for a time, then was laicized during a persecution of Buddhist orders in northern China in the middle of the sixth century. He is said to have then spent thirty years as a day laborer in a big city. When asked why he did not return to religious orders but instead worked at menial jobs, the Second Patriarch replied, I am tuning my mind by myself; what business is it of yours? It is recorded that he used to give informal talks outside the gates of large Buddhist monas teries, drawing such crowds that the formal clerics were furious. He lived to be more than a hundred years old, but eventually he was put to death by people opposed to spiritual freedom. One traditional version of his story is found in Transmission o f Light* chapter 30. The story of his enlightenment given in NdBarrier, chapter 4*f, is a diagram of a key method o f Zen meditation called turning the light around and looking back.
INSTAIS 1 ZfcN
All the Way Through
Ashvaghosha, an Indian Buddhist writer, was the reputed author of Awakening o f Faith in the Great Vehicle, a treatise highly esteemed in China. Ashvaghosha was one of the princi ple expounders of Vijnanavada, and in Chinese tradition is con sidered the Twelfth Patriarch of Zen in India. See Transmission o f Light, chapter 13 . The three subtle and six coarse aspects of mentation refer to an analytic scheme used in Buddhist yoga for self-observation. The three subtle aspects are: 1) inherited predispositions and habits; 2) entertaining of subjective assumptions; and 3) sub jective perception of objects. The six coarse aspects follow on these: 1) cognition; 2) continuity; 3) clinging; 4) defining and labeling; 5) developing habitual compulsive behavior; and 6 ) ' suffering bondage to habitual compulsive behavior. Comprehending Everything Kasyapas place in Zen tradition is epitomized in N o Barrier, chapters 6 and 22; and Transmission o f Light, chapter 2. For the story of Elder Ming, see N o Barrier, chapter 23, and Trans mission o f Light, chapter 34. Seek Without Seeking The three bodies, four knowledges, five eyes, and six spiritual powers refer to attributes of a Buddha, or fully enlightened individual. Ttfe three bodies are the reality body, or pure spiritual body of essenci^the enjoyment body, or the differentiated spiritual body of knowledge; and the emanation body, or the energetic body of physical manifestation. The four knowledges are the fngsn&|ê knowledge, which simply reflects being as is; the kn^viraj^^pquality, which pen etrates appearances; observational knowledge, which distin126
Notes
guishes phenomena; and practical knowledge, which employs the body. The five eyes are: the physical eye, the clairvoyant eye, the eye of wisdom, the eye of objectivity, and the eye of complete awareness. The six spiritual powers are: psychic travel, clairvoyance, clairaudience, mind reading, direct knowledge of life histories, and ending of contamination and indulgence. Yangshan (813-890) was one of the great classical masters. For an analysis of the story of Yangshan cited here as a guide to meditation, see Shobogenzo: Zen Essays by Dogen, pages 1 1 - 1 3 . For more on Yangshan, see also Zen Essence, pages 1 0 - 1 1 ; and No Barrier, chapter 25. Bhishmottaranirghosha and Sudhana are figures in the book Entry into the Realm of Reality in The Flower Ornament Scripture (pages 1 2 1 4 - 1 2 1 7 and 15 7 7 -15 7 9 ) Same Reality, Different Dreams The Sixth Patriarch Huineng (638-713) is one of the most impor tant figures in the tradition of instant Zen. He was an illiterate woodcutter, yet had the teacherless knowledge esteemed by Zen Buddhists. For his story, see No Barrier, chapters 23 and 29; and Transmission o f Light, chapter 34. A Song dynasty paint ing of the Sixth Patriarch is featured on the cover of this book. Caoshan (pronounced Tsow-shan) (840-901) was a great classical master particularly noted for his work on structural analysis of symbolism with the Five Ranks scheme. See No Barrier, chapter 10. : * Birth and death (Sanskrit samsara) refers to the continual varying and shifting of mental states, moocfs* and thoughts nr the ordinary mind. Getting out of birth aoddiath means stabilizing the autonomous function o f the faculty o f the essential mind, which is not emotional wavering of moods or the rise and fall
IN S T A N T ZE N
Understand Immediately
For more on the methods of Foyans teacher, the redoubtable Wuzu, see No Barrier; chapters 35, 36, and 38; Zen Lessons, chapters 18-28; and Zen Essence, pages 24-25. Instant Enlightenment Several ideas from the Buddhist Lotus Scripture are commonly cited in Zen talks. One is the inconceivability of ultimate truth; another is the compatibility of all productive work with real ity. Twenty-five states of being in the three realms refers to the spectrum of conditioned mental states in the instinctual, emo tional, and intellectual domains. Other worlds refers to worlds of experiences other than ones own personal subjectivity; here the teacher is talking about sensitivity and perceptivity, not other planets. Breaking through senses and objects refers to penetrating the distinction between the primordial and the conditioned, with the result that one is no longer deluded into thinking that the way one perceives the world is intrinsically definitive. Transmission o f the Lamp is one of the early compendia of Zen lore, a source of countless stories, sayings, and poems. Zen Mastery For an explanation of the two monks rolling up the screen, see m e rrie r, chapter 26.
Clear EyeS^
Deshan (pronounced Duh-shan) (781-867) was one of the great classical masters: once a Buddhist scl^jlar, he originally set out to refute the Zen claim of instant e n l^ fi^ le n t. His own under standing refuted by an enlightened Zri iw i , Deshan was sent on to her teacher and attained instant eilflghtenment himself.
Notes
Deshan lived on a mountain for a long time and refused to be come a public teacher until he was put under arrest by a gov ernment official who was interested in Zen and wanted Deshan to teach. Deshans arrest, recorded as historical fact, is also a useful metaphor for what actually happened to Zen Buddhism after the golden age; it was put under arrest by the authorities. See No Barrier; chapters 28 and 13 . Yantou (827-887) was another great classical master, one of the freest and most outstanding of all time. He said, Just let go and be natural and naked: you do not need to keep thinking fixedly. In the dark, the moment you prize anything, it has turned into a nest, a dodge. The ancients called this clothing sticking to the body, a disease most difficult to cure. When I was journey ing in the past, I called on teachers in one or two places; they just taught day and night concentration, sitting until your buttocks grow callouses, and all the while your mouth is drooling. From the start they sit in the utter darkness in the belly of the primor dial Buddha and ignorantly say they are sitting in meditation con serving this attainment. At such times, there is still desire there! Have you not read the saying, When independent and unim passioned, you yourself are Buddha! An ancient remarked, If you poison the milk, even clarified butter is deadly. This is not something you attain by hearing, not something you reach or abide in, not something in your forms; dont misperceive what is merely a gate or a door, for that will cheat you on the last day of your life, leaving you in utter chaos, of no help to you at all. What you should do is avoid artificialities and concocted eccentricities: just take care of your physical needs, passing the time according to your place in life. Do not disturb social order, pretentiously identifying yourself as one who follows the Path Finding Certainty Danxia (pronounced Dan-syah) (738-824) and Layniaxi Pang (n.d.) were both students of Great Master Ma. On Daiixia, see
liN M A iN .
/ 1
.'n
The Blue Cliff Record, chapter 76. On Layman Pang, see The Blue Cliff Record, chapter 42. On the great master Cuiwei (pro nounced Tsway-way) (9th century), see The Blue Cliff Record, chapter 20. On Touzi (pronounced Toe-dz) (845-914), see The Blue Cliff Record, chapters 4 1, 79, 80, 9 1; and pages 608-610. Get an Understanding Xianglin (10th century) was a student of the great master Yunmen. Keys of Zen Mind Fenyang (947-1024) was one of the very greatest masters of the early Song dynasty; he studied with more than seventy teachers and collected and commented on a great deal of Zen lore, at tempting to harmonize all the various traditions of Zen. Cim ing (pronounced Tse-ming) was one of his most eminent spiritual heirs. For more on the work of Fenyang, see Zen Essence, pages 15 - 16 , and The Blue Cliff Record, pages 638-641. Sitting* Meditation Foyans teachings on meditation, much like those of the ancient masters, are quite different from the obsessive compulsive atti tudes inherited by Western Zen cultists from Japanese sectari ans automatically following late feudal and neo-imperial models of Zen organization and discipline. Foyans teachings were evi dently different from those of obsessive cultists of his own time too^ Xu tang (pronounced Syw-tahng), whose student Jomyo import'd iZen to Japan in the thirteenth century, is on record as o teaching, essential not to become attached to the form of sitting; when you sit, you should do so in a suitably convenient manner. If you lack inner direction, you will uselessly weary your spirit. Under the military authoritai^fl^gim es that actually controlled most of the Zen establi^& ^p- ^ e u d a l Japan, this original flexibility tended to give way to ex$me disciplinarian
130
Notes
rigidity. For more on authentic methods of Zen meditation, see Minding the Mind. For more on Buddhist theory and practice of meditation in general, see Buddhist Yoga.
Appendix Song of Trusting the Heart

Sengcan, the Third Patriarch of Zen
The Ultimate Way is without difficulty; its only averse to discrimination: Just do not hate or love, and it will be thoroughly clear. A hairsbreadths miss is as the distance between sky and earth. If you want to have it appear before you, dont keep conforming and opposing. Opposition and conformity struggling becomes a sickness in the mind. If you dont know the hidden truth, you work in vain at quieting thought. It is complete as space itself, without lack or excess. J t is indeed because of grasping and rejecting that you are ' *|hcirefore not thus. Do notûrsue existing objects, do not dwell in forbearance of voidness: In a uniformly equanimous heart these quietly disappear of themselves. Stop movement to return to s t jlia f^ / a ^ stopping makes even more movement: As long as you remain in dual extremes>how can you know theyre of one kind?
I N S I A N I /.I N
If you dont know theyre of one kind, you will lose efficacy in both realms. Trying to get rid of existence is obscuring being; Trying to follow emptiness is turning away from emptiness. Much talk and much cogitation estranges you from it even more: Stop talking and cogitating, and you penetrate everywhere. Return to the root and you get the essence; Follow perceptions and you lose the source. The instant you turn awareness around, you transcend the emptiness before the eon. Changes in the emptiness before us all come from arbitrary views: It is not necessary to seek reality, all that is needed is ending the views. Dualistic views do not abide; be careful not to pursue them. As soon as there is affirmation and denial, you lose your mind in confusion. Two exist because of one; do not even keep the one. When the one mind is unborn, myriad things have no fault. No fault, no things; unborn, unminding. When the subject disappears from objects, objects submerge along with the subject. Objects are objects because of the subject, the subject is the subject because of objects. If you want to know them both, they are basically one void. One voidness the same in both equally contains myriad images. If you do not see fine and coarse, how could there be preference? The Great Way is broad, without ease or difficulty. Small views and foxy doubts slow you up the more you hurry. If you cling to it, you lose measure, and will inevitably enter a false path.
1 34
Sx>ng o f Trusting the Heart
Let it be as it naturally is; its substance neither goes nor stays. Let your nature merge with the Way, and you will roam free of vexation. Tying down thoughts goes against the real; oblivion is not good. It is not good to belabor the spirit; why estrange the familiar? If you want to gain the way of oneness, dont be averse to the six sense fields. The six sense fields are not bad; after all theyre the same as true awakening. The wise do not contrive; fools bind themselves. Things are not different in themselves; you arbitrarily get attached yourself. If you take the mind to use the mind, is this not a big mistake? When deluded, you create peace and chaos, when enlightened, there is no good or bad. All dualistic extremes come from subjective considerations. Dreams, illusions, flowers in the air; why bother to grasp them? Gain, loss, right, wrong; let them go all at once. If the eyes do not sleep, dreams disappear of themselves. If the mind does not differ, all things are one suchness. One suchness embodies the mystery, utterly still and unconditioned. To see all things equally, is to return again to the natural state. Without any reason therefore, you cannot judge or compare. Stopping is movement without motion, movement is still without stopping: Sinc^feoth are not established, how can one be such? When yoi^fid out the ultimate consummation, you do not keep rules and models. When the mind in harmony is equanimous, all doings come to rest. When doubts are thoroughly clea|<î!rdetelief is directly in tune. Nothing at all stays; theres nothing to fix iffconind.
When open and clear, spontaneously aware, you arent wasting mental effort. The realm that is not an object of thought cannot be assessed by conscious feelings. The reality realm of true suchness has no other or self. If you want to tune in right away, just speak of nonduality. Nonduality is all the same; theres nothing it doesnt contain. The wise ones of the ten directions all enter this source. The source is neither expansive nor contracted; one instant is ten thousand years. There is nowhere that it is not; the ten directions are right before the eyes. The small is the same as the large; you forget all about the bounds of objects. The largest is the same as the small; you do not see beyond it. Being is none other than nonbeing, nonbeing is none other than being; Anything that is not like this definitely should not be kept. One is all, all are one; If you can just be like this, What ruminations will not end? The true mind is nondual, nonduality makes the mind true. Theres no more way to talk of it; it is not past, or future, or present.
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INSTANT ZEN

Instant Zen: Waking Up in the Present

Instant Zen: Waking Up in the Present

Instant Zen: Waking Up in the Present

77?e Busts o f Awareness . . . 33

Mind Itself. . . 38 Seeing Through 39 Speaking Effectively . . . 42 N aked Realization . . . 43 Seeing M in d . . . 45

Instant Zen: Waking Up in the Present

realization. In classical Z en term inology this development is

called attain m en t o f m axim u m potential and m axim um func

Instant Zen: Waking Up in the Present

Freedom and Independence

Seeing and Doing-

The Marrow of the Sages

is the m arrow o f all the sages; there is not

The Most Direct Approach

The Basis of Awareness

Just Being There

you rationalize, ^its hard to understand; you

Show the Truth

Self Know ledge

Step Back and See

Oiu l\ li/lit .JCc

All the Way Through

only when you have

All the Way I brough

Seek Without Seeking

Same Reality, Different Dreams &

Reality , Different Dreams

Y ou still dont understand on your ow n. I tell

you this if you still dont understand on your ow n, then

how will you understand if you go somewhere else?

U iiila > u n d h w n cd u itcly

Principle and Phenomena

Keys o f Zen Mind

All the Way Through

Appendix Song of Trusting the Heart

Sx>ng o f Trusting the Heart

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